Soon
by TitanAnna
Summary: Meet Lia McDonald, expert on all things bad. Her life is a swirling tornado, and due to her constant unluckiness, things go wrong. No, she does not need some passive-aggressive redhead to butt into her life and make everything worse, but thanks for the thought.
1. Prolouge

Author Notes: Hiya! After about three months of serious planning, I decided to actually make a story. It's actually really fun to write about a character being naturally annoyed as hell. Very, very fun.

Pairing: Eventual Castiel/OC.

Warnings/Cautions: All I can say is that there is a shit ton (oops, there it goes) of language in this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own My Candy Love. Enjoy reading!

* * *

_**Wherein we introduce a sadist in the making. **_

When Lia McDonald (fuck you, she is not a restaurant) isn't planning global domination, she's at home in her broken-down apartment, or at work, cutting open boxes of peanut butter or staring coldly at people behind the cashier table. Lia doesn't have an exciting life, saying that she's invisible at school and to her mother, since the said parent was blind and sleeping away dreams at a hospital (because of a car accident that wasn't _all _Lia's fault).

Actually, being invisible isn't much of a disadvantage. She could walk home from a shift without getting jumped, sneak a mouthful of food in the middle of class, and avoid becoming the target of bullying by the Trio of Beauty, which consisted of two dumbasses and another girl that pretty much never had her say in any of their fights.

But the thing is, becoming an objective of constant willy-nilly didn't even sound that bad. Being 'invisible' toward your classmates, teachers, principal, and each and every member of her neighbourhood was bad. So, in conclusion, being 'unseen' was both great and annoying.

To the topic of her messed-up apartment system: it was bought by her aunt for her after she lived with her for four months. Her Aunt Meredith merely decided one morning that her only niece was old enough to have her own apartment, and gladly went on by herself to find 'the best place ever'. Of course, Lia was grateful even when she saw it and wasn't surprised it looked like it was crushed down by two monster trucks and stepped on by Mother Nature as a bonus, but couldn't really give much of a thanks. Instead, she muttered a 'what the hell?' under her breath and went on.

To say that her so-called 'new home' wasn't healthy was an understatement. The windows were slightly vandalized, with streaks of long-dried yolk and there were cabinets that had mold creeping out at the corners in the inside. Also – she was definitely going to mention this one – the oven was just plain disgusting. If you used it, you would die choking on pieces of scattered brains from a dead animal (and who knew what kind it was) and a mixture of whatever the hell you were cooking in the first place.

And that's why she never invites her friends to her place.

..Well, friends, as in Armin Lakewood, a guy she simply got along with due to their similar taste in video games. He is probably the only person she would ever come close to becoming friends with, seeing that he can actually see her and not through her like she was some translucent piece of glass. Because she is damn right _not_.

There seems to be some kind of barrier between Lia and the rest of Sweet Amoris School: nobody, besides her, tries to actually be brave and look behind it out of a serious amount of curiosity. But then again, Armin actually tried looking behind the big wall because he was kind of stupid.

(There were some lucky nights when she didn't have work and she would lie back on her bed and think about some stuff, and then suddenly Armin would come up. Since he did pop out of her head, she took advantage and wondered why the hell he was even friends with her but, you know, the answer was pretty much through a screen with their respective Sims characters flipping out and burning themselves until they died.)

(That was very fun, Mr. Lakewood. Lia gives you a thumbs up.)

Yeah, she knew Armin, but she couldn't say she knew anyone else besides him. Lia could not remember any other names of any other students she knew, and she didn't really remember the appearances of them, either. So, um, that was her entire friends list of the social media that is her life.

Depressingly so.

But hey, to boost her self-esteem, she still had Kim Something (oh God, was she an asshole, forgetting her co-workers last name), who worked side-by-side with her at the grocery store. She was definitely a great person to be around, and Lia was kind of proud to say that she talked to her. Then again, Kim paid completely no mind to her at school, since that's when Lia's Invisibility Affect kicked in full-power.

Now, Lia was half-heartedly excited as she washed the dishes (that were chipped in unexpected corners) that her night shift started in one hour. All she could do was pray that she didn't get thrown behind the stupid cash register machine, and the day would be great.

Because nobody likes watching people fuss with their credit cards, expecting you to help them. Seriously, humans of two-thousand-fourteen, who does?

* * *

So, since Lia was content to bad luck, she was assigned for being the cashier although she declined. Apparently, declining an job can get you fired. Huh. Who knew?

After Lia learnt that new, helpful piece of information, she gladly rushed behind the counter, watching a bunch of people quickly line up in front of her. The girl pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and continued to shoot fire at customers.

The first person in line was an old woman wearing _extremely_ inappropriate clothing. The senior had a tight, short torso that sat right above her breasts and very tiny shorts. Lia bit back a shudder as she gave a small smile toward the woman.

The Granny in Panties gave back the greeting by glaring, piling up her groceries onto the table. Lia slowly grabbed the first item, which was a box of bran muffins. Lia slowly raised her gaze up to the woman, arching a delicate eyebrow in her direction.

"Just scan it," the old woman growled.

Lia swiftly scanned all of the items as fast as possible, scared the old female would show her a thing or two from the '50s. C'mon, she did have the power too. And it could happen, because she had a vein popping in her forehead and her expression looked deadly.

Once the old woman left, the next customer pushed in (who was, sadly and not-so sadly, the last one), holding a lighter in one hand and a jug of milk in the other. He set it harshly on top of the table, pulling out a ten dollar bill out of his pocket.

Then, he looked up at her, grey eyes studying her with a contemplative look. "Aren't you that girl that hangs out with the geek of all geeks from school?" He ran his fingers through red hair.

"Excuse me?" she said, anger flaring through her. What the hell? Who goes up to people asking idiotic questions she had no answer to?

He huffed. "You know, that girl that hangs with that guy who plays video games all the time," he replied like it was obvious. Lia had no idea what this lunatic was talk—

Oh, Armin.

In her eyes, he didn't seem like a 'geek', considering she enjoyed watching him play his games, too. Well, that Red Guy clearly doesn't know shit because Armin does not clarify as one. And if he does, she should be called a 'geek' too, because Lia watched at least one episode of a teen drama show and they said that if one friend goes down, the other one goes down with them. Unless we're talking Hell, because Lia was sure she was going there and Armin would not want to accompany her there.

"Don't insult someone you don't know, lard ass," Lia spat, grabbing his tiny lighter he probably was using to burn his dick off because he really needed that at the moment and scanning it.

Mr. I-Insult-People crossed his arms over his chest. "I've seen him before. I know people, unlike you. Honestly, where the hell did you come from? No one ever sees you."

By now, Lia was sending a heated glare to him, her fingers shaking in vast fury as she shoved the milk carton into a bag. She let out a shuddery breath, fingers clenching the plastic as she handed him his stuff. "Wow. It's super cool that you know people. Hey, just a question: have you slept with them all?"

The male's eyes went wide and he bitterly grabbed the bag out of her fingers. He stuck out his middle finger to her.

"You too. Have a nice day!" Lia called out to him as he stalked away, looking like a baby that didn't get what they wanted. In this case, that totally mean guy wanted to win this argument but, of course, our heroine won.

One point for Lia McDonald and zero to the dumbass wearing a wig dip-dyed into his mother's period blood.


	2. Some More Interesting Facts

_**In which we learn more.**_

Lia slumped down beside Armin, yawning. She did not have an appropriate amount of sleep the night before. There was a marathon of her favourite soap opera and she was not going to hop into her stone-hard bed without finding out why Sammy cheated on Rodriguez on her tiny TV. To Hell she goes if she didn't.

The girl blinked wearily, her mind slurred as she studied Armin's room. Messy? Check. Dim? Checkity check (because she knew well enough Armin liked playing his games in the dark). Cozy? A big, bold check. Lia hoped Armin wouldn't be annoyed if she dozed off for a while.

And then she remembered the day before. She forgot to tell him. Lia gave a dry chuckle as she turned to the male next to her. "Y'know what happened yesterday at the storehouse?"

Still looking at the screen in front of him, he nodded. "What happened, Story-Girl? Brighten my dark day with another tale." Lia stared at him, opening her mouth and closing it before she started.

"I was assigned for being a stupid cashier, right? So, anyway, I was waiting for the next customer and this messed-up tomato guy comes and says, 'Oh, are you that chick who hangs out with the geek?' And I was confused, right, and I was like, 'What are you talking about?' And he's like, 'The gamer guy.' Then, I remembered you."

She took a breath, hating how she was suddenly rambling, a smile tugging her lips when Armin's gaze was on her. "I was mad that he was bitchin' about you, so I insulted him, and he got pissed off and gave me the finger. An' he left."

"I don't know if I should be proud that you insulted a customer without losing your job or to be proud that you backed me up," Armin spoke flatly, turning back to his game. "But thanks."

Lia was already slipping into a deep sleep, but caught his acknowledgement. "Welcome."

* * *

Lia certainly earned what she deserved the next day on her way to school.

It could've been karma or something else that was still sounded like bullshit in her ears, but it definitely did attack her, if not literally. Lia took note that she should lay off the insults for a while because next time, something worse than what was coming would occur. And Lia did not want to get beat up in front of many customers because of her stupid mouth. She did not want that to happen. At. All.

The morning started off rather pleasant; she ate her breakfast, took a shower, brushed her teeth, got dressed, and left her silent apartment. Lia smiled at every passing person that went by her, including her apartment neighbour Alexander, who was a fucking pervert. He enjoyed attempting to get into the pants of any poor soul, but usually failed. Which was a big, big relief.

But then, her life decided to play a game with her. In the corner of her eye, Lia saw a bright red. Immediately, her body went rigid and her blood went cold. Upon realization, she relaxed; what could he do if he didn't know she was there? She was probably invisible to him – unintentionally, of course – and unless she tripped over that big-ass rock that sat in the middle of the sidewalk, she was safe.

And then, she suddenly tumbled over it, luckily not face-planting on the ground. Although, she did fall straight on to her sorry ass. Still, it hurt _so much_.

Damn her stupid plot-twisting life.

A bark of laughter caught her attention from behind her, loud and infuriatingly close. Occasionally letting out groans and murmurs of curses as she got up, she brushed off her knees and turned around.

"Can you shut up?" she said off-handily, her voice slightly wavered due to the fall and her sensitivity. Lia blinked away any on-coming tears, snaking a shaky hand into dark hair.

"And, enlighten me, why should I?" the redhead answered with another question, frowning now. "Are you going to call your army of co-workers?"

The green-eyed girl narrowed her eyes, showing her annoyance with her expression. "Get the hell out of here, dumbass. Go fuck yourself."

"Gladly," the male smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. The look on his face was mocking and Lia wanted to slap him really, really badly. "And why don't you make me leave, huh, Ice Queen?"

"Don't give me a nickname. Also, don't forget that I totally whipped you yesterday at the store," Lia stated, a smile on her own face. Man, wasn't this fun. "I apologize for bruising your pride."

The other, looking very, very angered, stuck his middle finger out to her for the second time. "Suck on this, bitch."

"Would that be the closest to getting laid for you?" Lia inquired softly, tilting her heads. Grey eyes widened briefly before an actual verbal reaction.

"Shut up."

"No thanks."

"It'll make things easier for the both of us."

"Before I beat your ass again, I think it would be best if I ask. What's your name?" Lia said this with bemusement, turning to the direction of the school and squinting. If she ran all the way there, she could make it in time to find Armin and talk with him for a bit before first period.

"Castiel," he replied, shoving past her and walking toward the school. "Don't tell me your name, Clumsy. I don't think I want to learn yours yet."

And he was gone, red hair and all.

Walking behind him, Lia frowned. As if she was going to tell him her name anyway. Her mother (before she got thrown into a smelly imprisonment full of blind and sick people) always told her not to tell strangers her name. And Lia always listened to her mother. And Doctor Phil.

* * *

That night, as she unboxed jars of jelly and jam, Lia's slightly calloused fingers skimmed over her latest calls on her cell phone (a flip phone that had lost its power to flip ages ago). She moaned childishly when there weren't any.

Recently, her mother decided to suddenly stop calling as often as she used to, which was once every week. That really scared Lia, but she wasn't expecting anything to happen to her only parental figure anytime soon. Her mom was recovering from the injuries, and she might come home soon. (And Lia was relieved once she heard that. Really. Yeah, staying up late and watching TV until she passed out cold sounded totally awesome, but let's get real: there were times where she sat in the center of her room wishing her mother was there to ask her to do something. Lia was getting bored.)

She truly did miss her mom. Lia remembered a few days after the Incident of Grade Three, where Lia accidentally (or so she says) chopped off a pig tail of her classmate, which tempted the now short-haired child to punch Lia in the mouth. The good thing was Lia lost her first three teeth, and the bad was how much it _hurt._

Lia gave a nostalgic hum to the memory, leaning back against the wall behind her. She let go of her phone, setting it beside the box cutter. The girl closed her green-eyes, disliking the burn of her eyelids. God, was she suddenly tired.

"What did Boss say about sleeping on the job, Lia?"

Said girl yelped, bumping her head hard against the wall. She scowled, looking up to Kim. "Don't scare me like that, you devil. Holy shit, my heart jumped."

"Is that so?" Kim began, rubbing her eyes as she broke into a grin. "I didn't even notice."

The fear that was plastered on Lia's face had dissipated almost immediately. "Well, I guess you should keep your eyes wide open more often, eh?" The girl said groggily, standing up and lining up the jars on to a shelf.

"You look like shit, little girl. Better hurry up; Boss's letting us all go early if we finish our jobs," Kim said, studying Lia with a frown. "Do you need some help?"

Lia shook her head, continuing her job. "Nah, I'm cool. Thanks, though."

"'Kay. Don't call me back, though; I already gave you a chance."

"Sure, sure," Lia laughed. When Kim left, Lia took the advantage and sat back in her spot, tilting her head in a more comfortable position.

Screw work; she had could finish that crap later. Sleep was way more important. (Of course, since she was sadly still growing and who gives a shit if she was seventeen? Everybody grows at different ages, don't judge.

Because judging isn't very nice.

* * *

HEY! Alright, I like having Armin and Lia hella close. Also, I like arguing with Castiel so freakin' much. I don't even know why, but it's fun. And I'm sorry if my so-called 'disses' are lame, but I'm lame and it rubs on to my writing )':. cue the sad music plz!

OKAY, I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! *BLOWS KISSES*


	3. More So Peaceful

_**Wherein there is questions whether her unbelievably unfortunate unluckiness is on purpose or not.**_

Lia turned over on her bed, the worn-out mattress groaning beneath her. Sunlight bathed out of the blue drapes, and the girl moaned when it blinded her vision. Groggily, she stared at the digital clock beside her (which she got from a garage sale for one dollar. Cheap and useable. Not something she sees every day), quickly jumping out of bed and forgetting all about the sleep once she saw the time. It was eight-thirty and she was late for school.

Holy hell, she must've been so tired she slept in. That kind of shit was happened more often than not, and it was becoming annoying because seriously, Lia needed her sleep. If she didn't get it, run as for as you can because she's out for blood, motherfuckers.

Wiping sleep out of her eyes, Lia stood up, walking toward the bathroom. Once she reached it, she toyed with the doorknob before opening it (a weird habit of hers). But not before she almost stumbled over her feet. Can't forget that.

She did all her morning routines: swallowed up some Tylenol for her burning headache, took a shower and brushed her tangled hair, ate an apple, and ran out of her apartment. Lia was sure she could make it to the school in time for homeroom, which started a bit after—

And then she stopped in the middle of the hallway, her eyebrows furrowed and her expression beyond angry. It was Saturday. It was _Saturday_.

"What the hell is even wrong with me?" she said aloud to herself, turning back around and walking back. "Why do I keep forgetting stuff? Am I going crazy?"

Stepping into her empty apartment, her eyes slightly watery, Lia dropped her bag beside the door. That was the fourth time she forgot the date. The fourth time.

Immediately rushing into her room, Lia rubbed her eyes. She needed a better sleeping schedule. Last night was crazy; she was finishing piles of homework as she desperately attempted to at least wash the dishes. These days, she was becoming a workaholic and everything sucked blue balls.

Lia laid down with a shiver. Her apartment had the worst heating capabilities. It was like the landlords didn't even try and left a little girl to become an icicle while the fuckers smoked a joint. She pulled her blanket right under her chin, her back aching horribly.

Her bed was another problem in different category: it was small, hard, and uncomfortable. Lia calculated that if she kept sleeping on that ratty piece of shit, it would take her about three months before her back broke in half. And she did not want that to happen.

She shut her eyes, waiting for sleep to overwhelm her. Lia was sure she felt tired, but it didn't seem to be washing over her as it usually did. If she just remembered the stupid day of the week, then she would be able to sleep.

Muttering incoherently to herself, she stood up, slipping on her shoes and leaving her run-down 'home'. Hell, if she wasn't going to sleep, she might as well walk around like a drunk until she was too tired to do anything. Lia smiled. She produced impeccable logic.

One of the most peaceful parts of Sweet Amoris was the park. It wasn't the kind of park where screaming children played, but the park where most people liked to sit or have picnics in. Lia found it amusing, and she enjoyed laying around on the green grass, staring up at the cloudy sky.

Arriving the park, she inhaled the warm smell of pine trees as she made her way over to a deserted area, sitting contentedly. Lia crossed one leg over the other – which was a very feminine thing she was keen to doing most of the time – and sighed adoringly, smiling up at the bright sun. This was such a perfect moment, really; anything could happen now.

Lia McDonald did not expect to get trampled on by a canine that could be easily taken as a black horse.

"Holy shit!" Lia shrieked, dropping back and hitting her head forcefully on to gravel. She winced when she noticed the dog was standing near her, looking very hungry. "What the hell?"

Sitting up and scooting away from the long-legged beast that smacked off the remaining confidence and sanity of her soul, Lia glared back at the 'thing'. The animal seemed to be smirking at her in a way that was almost mocking, and Lia scowled back. Shit, did animals even smirk? Her headache increased, and now she felt like there was a circus dancing around in her hollow brain.

Lia also did not notice that unbelievably loud cackling of a certain scarlet-haired male that was standing next to her, barking (metaphors, what the hell?) and shaking his head.

"It's just my dog, geez. He's not gonna bite your scalp off, calm your tits," Castiel spoke, laughing even harder when Lia jumped to hearing a voice. He plopped down in front of his dog, scratching the top of his head. "Or whatever you have," he grinned again, looking at her flat chest.

Lia scowled. Could this guy back the hell up? Honestly, it was starting to feel like he was coming around just to annoy her.

"Your _dog_ looks like the devil. Now, please, leave me alone so I can just do my own stuff," Lia growled. Immediately, the dog snarled at her and she let out a yelp, covering her mouth her hand.

The redhead did not move, instead sitting down beside her. "I think it'll be best for me to stay here a bit. What kind of stuff are you tryna do anyway? Plan some kind of attack on our school by using your invisibility powers? Seems legit."

"It's none of your business," Lia spat, moving away from him. "Drag your ass out of here, I beg you. Don't forget to take your goat, too." The teenager drew her knees to her chest, squinting in order to see the people roaming around the park. There were many families in groups eating and talking on benches, and Lia would be lying if her stomach didn't turn upon the sight.

(Because there was food, not because she wanted her mom to be there with her. What was she, a pussy?)

"No thanks. You really need to quit trying to destroy me with your words, Clumsy, because unfortunately for you, I won't," Castiel declared, letting his gigantic dog run away (to probably scare some other poor folks).

Lia sighed. "If you won't go, then I will. I am so done with your stupid personality and constant vulgarity."

But she didn't go. Maybe it was because Castiel didn't answer her or the sudden change of the atmosphere; she didn't know. All Lia knew now was that either he leaves or they both stay because Lia was _not_ going anywhere. Nope, not at all.

"When you keep your mouth shut, you're actually tolerable," said Castiel. Lia shot him a glare, one which he gladly returned. "You should be quieter more often."

Lia slumped back against the big oak tree behind her, letting out a blissful sigh. "Same for you, Mr. Castiel."

They both sat in a relaxed silence, listening to the noise of chatter and the soft wind. Lia breathed in through her nose, disliking how it sounded so dull and monotonous. So routine. And then she started disliking how she suddenly went from the topic of sound and then to breathing. Her mind certainly went to weird places when it was left alone.

"Hobbies?"

Lia sat up and turned to the red-haired male on her left. "What do you mean?" Was this guy content to saying odd shit as if he was totally smashed?

He frowned, giving her a strange, annoyed look. "What are your hobbies?"

"Oh," Lia whispered, her mouth shaped into a small 'o'. She probably seemed like an idiot toward him. "I...I don't really have any, you know, _official _hobbies," she croaked out in a low voice. "Maybe it's because I don't have a special talent. What about you?"

When Lia saw the proud quirk of his lips, she regretted answering. "I play guitar. Unlike you, I have a natural talent."

"I hate to rain on your parade," Lia spat, "but that isn't a natural talent. Having a natural talent isn't playing-." She was quickly cut off by the raging redhead.

Castiel glared at her. "Don't go all Nathaniel on me, Clumsy. You suddenly switched to being a prick."

Lia raised an eyebrow. What was so bad about being called a 'Nathaniel'? That name sounded very nice, and it even had a ring to it, like a bell. "Who's Nathaniel, your father?"

(She winced once those words came out of her mouth. Her and her horrible comebacks…)

Either Castiel was being smart or just ignored the last comment all together, he shook his head, grumbling words that didn't seem all that appropriate or legal. Lia peered at him with wide eyes, studying him with fear. "Who's Nathaniel?" she repeated. Really, she did not know who the hell Nathaniel was. The name seemed familiar, but Lia brushed it off. She was probably thinking of some movie actor.

"You don't know who he is?" Castiel questioned, a surprised look on his face. When the girl beside him nodded, he looked even more confused. "Didn't he greet you when you first came into the school? 'Because he does that to everyone." Lia blinked and Castiel sighed. "Nathaniel the president. Your head is thicker than it should be."

Lia let out a low hum of acknowledgement. Oh, Nathaniel was the student body president! She held a lot of respect toward him since he had to sit around behind piles and piles of paper while Principal Shermansky shat on the floor screaming in his ear. She hasn't had a full conversation with him since her first appearance in Sweet Amoris High School (around a year ago), but he occasionally said 'hello' to her in that kind tone of his.

"Yeah, I know him. What, do you hate him or something?" asked Lia, leaning back again against the tree. It was a really comfortable spot even though the bark of the tree was stiff. Still, comfort varies on people. Lia could probably sit in a box full of nails without flinching (nope, no, never. She could never do that) because she wasn't a pussy unlike some people she knew in her school (she didn't know any of them, what was she talking about?).

"He's an asshole, period. My hatred to that dumbass goes on for so many levels, _so many_. All I can say to you, Clumsy, is stay away from the self-satisfied bastard. End of conversation," Castiel immediately replied. Lia stared at him for a moment before she began laughing hysterically.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she gave him a small grin. "It doesn't even seem clear why you hate him," said Lia. She shook her head, dark brown locks falling into her face and let out another chuckle. "Care to explain why? Or how, if it makes it easier to explain."

Castiel examined her for a moment, then let a rainbow of curses escape his lips. "No, I will not explain 'why' or 'how' because I don't want to. Too fucking bad, you dipshit."

Although his tone was humorous, his expression was icy and it didn't help that the peaceful atmosphere faltered before breaking. An awkward silence hung in the suddenly cold air, and Lia gave Castiel another quick look before getting up. "Sorry, but I gotta go. I'm busier than you think."

"I don't think I care, Clumsy. Don't trip over that pebble over there, by the way; it's a dangerous one."

Castiel's tone was still lacking its sarcasm plus his additional rudeness (at least that's what she thought. Hell, she only knew him for about good four weeks; what more could she know about him?), but Lia shrugged it off. "Thanks for the warning, Castiel. Here's some advice: go fuck yourself. Please and thank you."

"This is the second time I heard you say that. I'm starting to wonder if you want to see me screw myself, Clumsy." Castiel smirked, staring at his dog from afar.

"I wouldn't want to see that. At all."

"Then why'd you tell me to?"

"It was supposed to be offending, alright?"

"Well, it wasn't."

Scoffing as she waved a weak wave toward the other, she spun around, making her way down the grassy green. Was it just her, or was she suddenly tired? Lia bit back a yawn, walking a bit off-kilter as she stopped to push her hair out of her eyes. Sleep washed over her senses, and as she aimlessly looked around, she spotted an empty bench. Wouldn't it be brilliant if she slept on that?

But then she shook her head, spotting her apartment that was only a few blocks away from the public park. Eh, her place was just there. It wasn't _that_ far.

Lia found her line of vision momentarily blurry by the time she made it into her home. Her eyes glassy, she slumped into the couch (that was way more comfortable than her bed), laying down and staring at the ceiling. As she settled down, letting the wave of sleep (plus the sudden nausea) take over her.

Shutting her burning eyes, Lia pressed her finger tips on to her cheek. Her skin was cold. There were probably dark circles under her eyes, and her complexion was seemingly pale. God, she was now one hundred percent sure now that she needed a sleeping schedule, hands down.

Lia McDonald, girl seeking light to shine down on her horrible sleeping habits. In need of a sleeping agenda as soon as possible.

But we all know a stupid 'agenda' will never fix this rebellious, T.V. hungry girl. We also know that Lia will probably bite off the arms of anyone who touches the screen of her small television and that she will kill to know more facts about Sammy and Rodriguez's relationship in the new episode of her favourite show. This generations was fucked up as it is, and Lia was a prime villain out of millions.

…Furrowing her eyebrows and turning over to smash her face into the softness of the tatty couch, Lia sighed. Where the hell did her mind run off to when she was sleepy?

* * *

Okay, I was going to make this longer, but I myself became sleepy and I just posted it. ): I suck.

Anyway, thankkkk youuuu** AshleyMCL **for reviewing! You're so sweet~!


	4. Some Stalking and a Car Ride

_**More things occur. **_

Slender fingers ran through brown, tangled locks and a blur of chatter registered a tired brain. Lia gave an equally exhausted sigh as she massaged her temple, moaning when her headache seemed to intensify. Looking forward and trying to listen more carefully to how Mr. Faraize attempted to bring the classroom to quiet down, she sighed. The girl felt some sympathy for the man when the students continued to howl with noise.

Slowly letting her head hit the desk, Lia shut her eyes. Fuck. She probably looked like a bus went through her entire body (and that would be a believable story. The bus-guy wouldn't even notice she was crossing due to her invisibility), or as Kim would say, 'shit'.

Lia let her weary lips quirk upwards at the mention of her co-worker, then let her lips dip back into a frown, grimacing sharply. It felt as though she couldn't move a single part of her body without feeling pain or having to try harder to make it work. She couldn't even close her eyes properly.

"Alright everyone, settle down," Mr. Faraize murmured in that soft tone of his. The classroom suddenly seized and a look of relief washed over him. "Today, we will be learning about something different."

Tired green eyes forced themselves to stay alert, awake, but they failed. They shut and so did the rest of Lia's body – her senses – and a rhythmic breath flowed out of chapped lips.

And Lia can proudly say that the good thirty minutes she slept were the best she had in weeks. It was better than having to sleep to silence every night because the classroom automatically and coincidentally started screaming right when she fell asleep. Nobody woke her up and nobody thought of waking her up - the perks of being ignored by your whole school – and Lia floated up in Dreamland, smelling all the roses that didn't smell like soil but instead honey, and she felt _so alive—_

But then a loud metallic sound of something hitting the desk woke her up, and her body immediately went rigged as she sat up straight. Mumbling grumpily, Lia narrowed her eyes at the person who made her Dreamland into hell.

"What do you want?" she muttered groggily, fisting her frail hands into the fabric of her shirt. Armin shrugged at her angered expression and her fury dissipated a bit.

Scratching his head, Armin tapped his game console. "You fell asleep and nobody noticed until class ended. Yeah, uh, I was kind of about to go but then I remembered you're in the same class as me and I went to go look for you and then I found you here," he rushed out.

It was obvious that Armin felt bad about forgetting, and she wasn't surprised. Really, it was easy to forget her. There was this time when Lia was three and her aunt forgot her at the grocery store (that was very far from home) and she didn't even noticed until she was at the street close to her house. Her heart sank a little, but she gave a grin.

"Nah, it's alright. I mean, I understand," Lia whispered, mentally kicking herself when her voice cracked. Armin's smile faltered visibly. Shit. "Don't feel bad; it's not your fault. Plus, I would have to thank you if you did forget because that would mean more sleep for me." She gave a sly beam.

Armin didn't seem convinced, but he gave her a million-watt smile. "Hey, let's go. You're probably late for your next class."

"What about you?"

"Eh, I don't really care. I'll just go to the basement to play. Y'know, more time for games."

A dry chuckle emitted out of her mouth. "Okay. Don't let yourself get caught. I can do it because I'm powerful, but you aren't. I wish you luck."

"Back to you."

Lia sped up, walking faster and nodding her head. She did need luck.

* * *

And she was serious.

Curiosity (synonym: nosiness) took the best of her this time. It wasn't her fault, no, it was not, it was the fact that she heard a soft voice from the basement that pushed her toward the edge of the mild interest she had afore. Lia had heard the voice before, but she hasn't really taken her time to actually go down and see who the hell was singing. And this time, after her daily-after-school-tutoring-classes with Mr. Faraize, she took the advantage and snuck down there to find out.

Peering through the small crack in the door, she sat at the top of the first stair, squinting her eyes to see more clearly. Lia was still tightly clenching her notebook in which she wrote down some random stuff Mr. Faraize was explaining to her. She didn't even take the damn time to shove the book into her locker, she just went straight forward and became her own personal spy.

Lia tilted her head to the side to see better. There was a male with somewhat white hair that seemed to be singing, and someone else behind him that was playing a guitar. Pressing her ear against the door, now not looking at the people at all, she gave a blissful sigh. This day began crappy, but it ended with music. Which made it great. Plot-twists are amazing sometimes.

But then suddenly (oh for the love of fuck, why were these words so common these days?), the singing stopped and so did the guitar chords and a clanging noise erupted. Everything was then quiet and Lia quickly moved away from the door.

She moved back promptly after a few moments when she realized the two people weren't coming to the entrance. A smile flickered on her face.

"Lys, I gotta tell you something." The first voice. The tone was slurred and deep although it sounded quite familiar. Shrugging off any questions, Lia continued to stare.

"What is it?" The other one said, possibly named 'Lys'. There was a sound of rustling, probably one of them shifting or something. Lia pressed her ear to the door again, hoping to hear more.

Really, she had nothing to do with her life until around six-thirty, which was two hours from now. She had a lot of time until she could leave, but for now she was going to be one those bitches that stalk on people for a while.

Yes, she felt bad for doing this. Nobody deserved to get stalked on, even the president. Or a celebrity. Anyway, Lia would be upset if she found out that someone had been staring her down for a solid fifteen minutes, but that would never happen. Practically nobody knew her in this school; who was scary enough to notice her? Or nice enough?

Shaking her head, she sighed when she realized she how she was acting. She was acting as if her life was full of fake teenage angst. Breathing in a pliant atmosphere, Lia continued her journey of being such a sad girl with no friends (did Armin count?) that watched people have conversations.

Oh, the conversation! She shook her head again, trying to concentrate on the words. They were whispering now, but when she strained her ear she could hear a bit.

"And Candy is always stripping down to other people. She acts like she likes me, but then she runs off and becomes Nathaniel's slutty worker," the guitarist person growled. Lia tilted her head when she heard the two names: Nathaniel and Candy. Lia kept her eye open for the student body president, but she hasn't seen much of him. It was as if he was hiding in a room or something.

'Candy'. Lia heard that name many times before. Armin had stated how she was 'so adorable' and how she liked video games too (which was an automatic jackpot for him). Lia had just gave him a slightly jealous look and ignored the mention of the female. Lia didn't really know her, so she couldn't judge her quickly. All she knew was Armin liked her _and that bitch was a friend stealer. _But now, thanks to the information the guitar guy gave her, she could proudly say that 'Candy' was also 'slutty worker'. Huh, that one was new.

(Kim had also talked about this 'Candy' character and how she was so nice and so cool and awesome. Lia didn't want to add that in because that was another friend stolen by the 'slutty worker'.)

(Okay, don't blame her for being an envious asshole. This friendship thing was new to her and she was trying to keep it at the lowest pace.)

Gritting her teeth and straining her ear again to hear better, Lia breathed out of her nose, wincing when pain flared. Hell. Did she forget to take her Tylenol again? Because really, they were needed in this case scenario. Her eyes drooped, sleeping forcing them to close. No, Lia, stay awake. Just listen…

"You just need to wait," the singer prompted. More rustling. "There's more to it than this. Surely she will come to her senses soon enough."

Lia choked back a laugh/sob. How sweet. Friendships were adorable sometimes. Lia then frowned. Were they even friends? Who the hell were they, anyway? That was the thing about stalking without knowing who you're stalking: you never know who you're stalking. True, straight forward, repeated shit right there.

A hand slapped on to her shoulder and she jumped, rolling over onto her side. At least she didn't scream. Looking up at the prime member of her scary fest, Lia bit back the urge to say, 'hey, I was just thinking about you like five minutes ago'.

Instead, she gave a cough. "Whoops. How did I end up here?" she said, kicking herself again mentally when she realized how fucking crazy that sounded. Casual move, McDonald. "Hello, there." Lia added, nodding toward Candy.

"Excuse me," spoke Candy, letting out a chuckle. Stepping over Lia, she made her way inside the basement, going down the stairs with the same shy smile on her mouth.

Lia got up when she saw Candy stop and look back to her. Her eyes wide and her heart beating a little faster than possible, she pretended to walk away, looking back only once. Candy was gone. Slowly turning back around and tip-toeing to the basement door, she placed herself securely and comfortably on top of the first stair.

"Hi, Castiel! Hi, Lysander! I forgot to get something so I came back here and heard you guys playing!" Candy practically squealed, her blonde hair falling on her shoulders. Lia hummed with acknowledgement. So Castiel was the one who was playing the guitar! He was serious when he said he knew how to play.

There was more rustling and a dry laugh. Rustling again and a stretched silence. "Don't lie. I know you were hiding somewhere watching," laughed Castiel – or, should she say, the guitarist.

There's an uncomfortable grunt and Lia could tell it was from the singer. "Castiel, don't you think we should resume practicing? I won't have time tomorrow to rehearse with you."

"I can go if you want…" Candy trailed off, clearly not wanting to, and there was another silence. Then, a voice.

"No, you can stay," said Castiel. Lia shook her head, muttering fumbled sentences like 'what a bitch' and 'wow, look, Castiel and Candy angered the singing guy' under her breath.

"Okay. But I just remembered that I have to leave," the singing guy (a.k.a Lysander or something) murmured. Lia's breath hitched and she stood up, running away from the door and out of the hallway. She didn't even realize she was outside until she felt a cool breeze slap onto her damp skin. Crap.

Digging into her pocket and grabbing her flip-phone, she almost yelped when she saw what time it was. Oh god. Oh sweet fuck, it was six o'clock and she only had thirty minutes to reach the bus stop and take the closest route to the grocery store and then run the rest of the way. Tears of frustration filling her eyes, she sighed and walked on.

This was all her and her hormone's curiosities fault. Her stupid, annoying, cringe-worthy hormones. Staring at the hole-full parking lot, she swore colorfully, dialing her Aunt Meredith's phone number. Pressing the phone against her ear, she allowed her legs to go limp. Sliding down the wall Lia was leaning against, she bit her lip as hard as she could, gagging when she tasted the sour flavor of her own blood.

The school's doors opened from her left, and she would be lying if she didn't feel her heart jump inside of her. Slowly turning her head, she watched the silver-haired singer make his way to his car.

But she immediately lowered her gaze, biting her lip harder. Stalking lead her life in the wrong direction. Lia did not want anything else to happen to her.

Looking back at her phone, she groaned softly when her aunt didn't answer. Shit. It was either walking or she was going to have to hijack a ride.

(_Whoa. Slow the hell down, McDonalds_, Lia thought, her eyes wide. _You're gonna get yourself locked up in a cell at a young age. Remember, don't end up like Uncle Charlie._)

But Lia could just ask that _nice-sounding_ guy to give her a ride. There was a chance that he would say no, but Lia was a daredevil and she was open to taking risks. Fuck the establishment.

Standing up and straightening her posture, Lia walked slowly behind the singer. He seemed to be staring at his car with a look of contemplation, his keys held tightly between two fingers.

"I don't mean to bother you," Lia whispered. Furrowing her eyebrows, she swore again. Why was she forgetting that she was such a quiet asshole that he couldn't even hear her? Before she raised her voice, Lia remembered about her stupid invisibility thing. This guy probably wouldn't notice she was standing their even if she screamed her lungs off.

Who cares? She'll just go ahead with it. "I don't mean to bother you," she repeated, her tone slightly louder. When he turned around, she beamed. Add another point to the scoreboard, please. "My ride isn't here, and um…"

The other was staring at her with a rather dumbfounded expression, clearly not knowing where this was going. Lia coughed, staring at her shoes. "Could you - no, I mean, may you..."

"Okay."

"What?"

"Okay."

The singer turned around, pressing the button to start his car. "The door is over there," he directed, pointing to the passenger seat as if she had never seen a car. Lia was still grateful, her smiling about to split her face in half.

"Thank you so much," she nearly cried, opening the sleek black door. Lia may or may not stood touching the smoothness of the door for more than necessary, but thankfully, the singer hadn't noticed.

"Are you new in this school? I haven't seen you around before; let alone once." The singer buckled his seat belt, quickly promoting Lia to do the same. "Is this your first day?"

Lia shook her head, sinking into her seat. "No," she croaked, fingers feeling the fabric of the seat belt. "I've been here for more than a year now."

There was a silence and Lia could tell he felt bad. Once they reached the road, he decided to reply. "Oh. I'm sorry for forgetting. Where to?"

"Just by the corner of the grocery store," Lia said, looking anywhere but him. There was literally only one grocery store in all of Amoris, so it was pretty obvious to which one she was talking about. "And you don't have to apologize. I get that a lot."

There was more quietness, but Lia wasn't affected by it. The singer – why wasn't she calling him Lysander? She knew his name. – looked more relaxed than he did before and the peace was quite comfortable. When they reached the store, Lia immediately unbuckled her seat belt and reached into her pocket, grabbing her worn wallet and searching for money. A smile on her face when she found a rock-hard ten dollars (why did she have to find it now?), she stretched her arm. "Here you go. Thanks for driving me here."

"You're welcome. And you can keep the cash; I don't need it nor do I want it," said Lysander. "And may I ask, what is your name?"

Placing the cash neatly on to the seat, she grabbed her book (that she was still holding. Did she really forget to put it in her locker?). "No, here. It won't be fair if I don't give you something in return. My name is Lia, by the way."

Shutting the car door behind her, Lia waved. Wow, what a nice person. Too bad he wouldn't even remember her name the next day.

* * *

Lia would be lying if when she saw her phone's missed call's caller ID, she was confused. Then came a fit of running around her small apartment, not really running but tip-toeing (because she did not want to get evicted by her neighbors because of the racket she was causing).

Eyes falling shut with excitement, she gave another squeal as she enthusiastically tripped, falling on to her back. Lia didn't even flinch. Redialing the number, she smiled in delight.

"_Hello?" _

Lia bit her lip. "Hi? Dad? You called?"

"_Yes, I did call. Aren't you a smart girl_," her father joked, causing Lia to laugh a bit. She missed his dull humour. _"How's school?" _

"It's okay. Nothing changed or anything. Dad, are you going to come back anytime soon?"

Of course he wasn't. Lia's father was a working guy; he wouldn't come home even if he had a break. The fact that he got transferred and promoted at the same month as her mother was taken into care by stupid doctors wasn't helping, which is when and how she became independent for the first time. Or, at least she liked to think she was. Eh, she didn't know/she didn't care and she was just so fucking happy that he called because he hasn't called in _weeks. _

"_I don't think I will come anytime soon," _her dad explained, and Lia's smile cracked. _"But I do think I'll come home for Christmas." _

Lia almost screamed. Christmas was only around one and a half months away. It was like saying her birthday was coming early. "Oh, really?" she replied, keeping her cool although she was exploding with gladness inside. "That's great, dad. I can't wait to see you."

"_You too. I have to go, Princess, but I'll call back tomorrow if I have time. I'll see you on Christmas!" _

Lia, already up on her feet and walking toward her room, laughed. "I'll see you too, dad."

When she turned off her phone, she jumped on to her hard bed, a smile still on her face. Christmas felt like a day away.

* * *

I forgot to post this! I am so sorry. But I want to thank the people that reviewed and favorite! Thanks for sticking with me ;).


	5. Late Intentions

_**There's more to a simple situation.**_

"_Aw, ain't that cute?"_

"_Like two assholes on their first date." _

Lia did not know if it was possible or legal to come to school so late, and she did not want to find out. And even if it was not legal, she had an excuse. It may not sound excuse-worthy, but at least it was an excuse. Positivity comes first.

Apparently, her clock finally took the advantage and broke. Lia knew it was going to happen sometime, but did it really have to happen now? No, it did not, but shit happens. When she woke up, it took her a while to realize that:

One: it was eleven o'clock.

Two: she was late for school.

Okay, okay, she knew she should have just checked the time on her phone, but Lia's brain doesn't work that way when it feels like it has just shoved in a container. And Lia would've stayed home, but again, her brain was so fucked up sometimes.

Coming to a stop once she saw an unclear view of the school, Lia exhaled. Oh, god. What class was she having now? She was sweating even though the weather was far from hot. Cold, you could say. Shoving her freezing fingers into her pocket, another long breath emitted out of her lips.

Sweet Amoris was kind of weird. It was only autumn, yet her toes felt like they were about to fall off. The breeze were a little less than friendly, slapping cheeks. Although the weather was messed up, it still looked beautiful; trees swaying, sky a hazy shade of sapphire. Possibly one thing Lia respected about her town.

Dragging her sore legs behind her, she heaved a sigh, now in complete sight of the school. Her probably frozen lips quirked cheerfully and she waddled her way into the courtyard.

Her eyes fell upon a bright red and her nose twitched at the scent of nicotine. Nope, Lia was not going to ask how or why Castiel was standing outside in the cold smoking. No, she was not, and she did not want become a part of the problem.

Toddling, her breath hitching, she began to cross the courtyard. Praying under her breath that he wouldn't see her, she went at a faster speed. Her life took the wrong turn when she fell, successfully rolling over on to her back. Moaning softly, she sat up. Shit.

"Clumsy, why do you keep falling? If you want my attention, just do something else," came a deep, fumbling-from-laughter voice. Lia furrowed her eyebrows, standing up. Unfortunately, her legs gave in because _they were useless noodles _and she fell on her (sorry) ass. Another bark of laughter stripped out of clean air.

Soon, he was standing next to her, not truly offering a hand. Lia winced when she attempted to sit back up, biting her tongue harshly. "Shut up, Castiel. I'm already beyond late and I don't need you to get me in trouble."

"If you're late, then why'd you come?" Castiel replied darkly, now holding out his hand. Staring at it before grabbing it, she took the proposal. Castiel narrowed his eyes. "It seems stupid that you'd come when you missed half a day of school."

Lia shrugged. "I don't even know why I came, either."

"Then, want to come with me?" The redhead asked, sucking on his cigar once more before he threw it on the ground, stepping on it.

Throwing her backpack over her shoulder, Lia contemplated this for a while. Should she go with him? There was a fifty-fifty chance he would take her to the nearest cliff and throw her off, and there was a fifty-fifty chance he wouldn't. Giving him an additional look, Lia decided to take the risk.

"Sure. But where are we going?" she questioned, following behind him.

"You'll see. Hey, are you hungry?"

* * *

And hungry she was.

They stepped into a vacant restaurant that smelled of grease and meat. Lia was not complaining; she really did like the smell. And she was so, so famished. She skipped breakfast once she realized she was, and she regretted it. Food comes first, school comes second.

"This place looks nice," Lia whispered, her stomach growling. Castiel nodded, sitting himself comfortably into a booth under the numbers '23'. Sitting in the other side across from him, the girl looked around. "Do you come here often?"

Shaking his head nonchalantly, Castiel summoned a waiter. "Nah. My first time here was just yesterday. What do you want to order?"

"No, no; I'll order my food myself. You don't have to pay for me," Lia said. Her respect toward this guy was growing. He was becoming less of an asshole, which was very good progress. Lia's smile flattened when a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Who said I was gonna pay for you? I was just asking what you wanted to buy," he responded coolly, giving a chuckle. He began reciting exactly what he wanted to the waiter.

Her lips dipped into a frown. It wasn't like she wanted him to buy for her. Lia wasn't those chicks that screamed if you didn't offer them something first, but that was just cold. "Wow, thanks, Castiel. But I think I can do that myself." Motioning for the waiter to come to her, Lia told him what she wanted. Just a drink and a burger. No more or no less.

Fingers tapping the cracked table, Lia couldn't help but search for a topic of conversation. Castiel didn't seem to be affected by the tense silence, just looking out the window with mild interest. Lia sighed.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself. I find it weird how we're sitting at a table while you don't even know my name," Lia rushed out, an embarrassed pink tint on her cheeks. Castiel looked at her before answering, an eyebrow raised. "What do you want to know about me, then? And why don't you tell me your name? You could've done that all along."

Lia slipped off her parka, setting it beside her neatly. "I just want to know basic facts. Plus, you told me not to say my name. A pretty stupid move, really."

"Okay. Fact one: I don't give out facts to people. You'll just have to find out more about me by yourself," came the reply. Castiel gave a light smirk.

Lia frowned, shifting in her spot. Castiel was playing games. "So how do you want me to find out by myself'? Do you want me to stalk you or something?" Again? Lia bit back the urge to add the last word into her sentence. She continued. "Anyway, my name is Lia McDonald and I think you're a bad influence." She wiggled her finger around knowingly, a smile pressed on to her face.

Castiel smirked. "I don't think I asked you to introduce yourself, 'Lia'," he said, drawling her name sharply. Leaning back into the cushions of the booth, his devious grin widened. "I think you're getting ahead of yourself."

"You know, a lot of people say you're a big pain in the ass. Literally. Aren't you gonna beat me up if I insult you?" Lia asked, actual concern highlighting her tone. She played with the paper towel dispenser momentarily until she received a look from the waiter that was waiting for another table. Yawning, she let her head lean against the cool window. "I fear you only a bit."

A bell rang and their table number was called. Castiel shot her a look clearly saying, 'go get the food, Clumsy' as he slapped his ten dollar bill on to her hand and Lia quickly got out of her seat. Pushing past a blonde haired girl, Lia made her way to the front table, reaching into her pocket to get her own money as well. Taking out her own ten dollars, she waited for the chefs (or something) to set the food on the table.

(Wasn't it funny how when really needed the money she was broke? It was. It truly was.)

Inhaling the scent of oil and future health risks, Lia casually – no, seriously, _casually_ – draped her arm over the table, staring at the bell. Should she press it? Was it legal? Her fingers eager and itching to press it, she caught herself. No, Lia, this was not good manners. Lia knows she's better than this, but look how _open_ it looked…

And then, two plates clattered on to the counter and a woman wearing an apron gave her a blank look. "Here's your food. Give me the money."

(Alright, wasn't she supposed to pay when she finished all her food or something? Oh, wait, shit. This was a _fast food_ restaurant. Okay. Um.)

Giving a sheepish smile, Lia placed the cash on to the desk. The woman stared at her with a dangerous expression, ready to attack. Lia placed the two plates in one hand and the drinks in the other. Now, all she had to do was successfully get back to her table without slipping and fracturing her skull. This was the hard part.

**OPERATION: GET BACK TO THE TABLE IN ONE PIECE.**

_Remember, kids: safety comes first._

Lia needed a hardhat in order to complete this task.

Turning around and squinting toward the direction of her table, Lia was not surprised to see the girl she bumped into sitting on the same side as Castiel. Shaking her head, the girl waddled slowly to it, her fingers shaking. She was going to fall and die. _She was going to die. _And she was only seventeen, damn it. Lia had a long way to go.

Examining the female as she tried her best not to fall, Lia noticed how familiar she looked. Once the green-eyed girl reached her spot, she placed the food on the table before sitting in her respective area. Castiel looked bothered by how close the blonde girl was sitting next to him, and Lia couldn't help but laugh when curly-haired girl slid in closer. The redhead glared at the brown-haired girl, causing her to shut up.

"Amber, I don't want to deal with you right now. How did you know I was here, anyway?" Castiel growled, inching away from her. The distance disappeared quickly and Castiel groaned.

The female shrugged, twirling a lock of blonde in between her fingers flirtatiously. "This place is my favorite restaurant to go to, and I was so surprised when I saw you here!" A giggle emitted out of her mouth and Lia gagged. She actually felt bad for her. This 'Amber' was trying a bit too hard.

"Don't tell me shit, Amber. Just go back to your president-brother and your slutty friends. I'm leaving," Castiel grunted, standing up and shoving his wrapped burger into his pocket. Holding his drink in one hand, he motioned for Lia to get up too. Castiel looked more intimidating than he usually did, and Lia did not want two black eyes. They did not compliment green very well.

Standing up and throwing her parka over her shoulders, Lia snuck a bite of her burger before wrapping it up and putting it safely in her pocket. Her fingers felt numb due to how cold her drink was and she bit her lip. Shit. What time was it now? And how did Amber get here without getting blown up by Principal Shermansky? Questions that will never be answered. (Lia could check her phone for the time, but it was just _so deep_ in her pocket and that was apparently too far.)

Amber clearly did not notice her; more on to staring at the back of Castiel's head as he moved toward the front door. Lia, not too far behind him, turned around once more to see the blonde have a min-tantrum. A smile appeared on Lia's face. That was proof she was bothered.

Outside, it was chillier than earlier. The sun's shine was being blocked by a group of clouds, all dark. Zipping up her jacket quickly as she tried to keep up with Castiel's speed, she sipped her drink. "Hey, Castiel?"

"What?"

"Where do we go now? I mean, that Amber girl made 'us' leave and it's über cold. Are we going back to school?" Lia asked, truly wishing he would come to his senses and lead them toward the school (which was about a block or two away). Again, she was wrong.

Castiel scoffed. "No, we're not going back to that crappy place. Just follow me and shut the hell up, okay?" he answered. He was clearly back to being an asshole, but Lia wasn't surprised. It was his trait. It was never going to go away. Lia frowned deeply before following his orders.

They crossed a street that lead to the parking space of the school. There were a bunch of automobiles surrounding the area – blue cars, green cars, bright pink cars filled with stickers and Mickey Mouse stuffed animals in the inside, and many other _normal_ cars.

The redhead stopped by a silver sedan, and he rummaged through his pockets to get his keys. Once the doors were unlocked, he gave her a look. "Get inside."

Immediately obeying, Lia sat in the passenger seat as Castiel sat in the driver's. For a moment, Lia excitedly wondered if he was going to make them drive around town like those teenage rebels and come back at, like, twelve or something. (Oh, she really did want to be one. According to some movies – and forgive her for not knowing the names – they were so casual and awesome and everyone was scared by them but they secretly wanted to be their friends. A life Lia wouldn't have anytime soon. Or ever.)

Her mouth was dry. Sipping her drink (and wondering why her hands felt so numb), Lia reached into her pocket to find a sweating burger. Eh. Food was still food, even though her burger looked like shit. Biting it, she came to the conclusion that she should 'never judge food by its appearance'. She's heard something like that before, but from where? Shrugging to herself, she took another bite.

Swallowing, she turned to the redhead beside her, who was finding the school's back door very interesting. "So, why did you make us leave the restaurant? Was it because of that girl?"

(_No, Lia, _she thought with dry sarcasm. _It was because he wanted to go. Proceed the mental kicking fest, would you?_)

"It wasn't just any fucking girl, smartass," Castiel retorted, tone dark. "It was Amber Thomas. You know, Nathaniel's sister? She's a bitch." Turning to Lia fully, he gave her an unimpressed look. "Mind if I smoke?"

Knowing that he wouldn't listen even if she said no, she nodded. "Smoke if you want to. Just open the window a bit, please and thank you. Also, isn't Amber apart of that little crew where they mess up people's lives?"

"Yup," Castiel replied. Grabbing a lighter and a cigarette, he stuck it in to his mouth. "She seems to have it out for some people." Before he lit up his cigar, he rolled down the window, much to Lia's gratefulness. "Amber's current hatred is going all out to Candy."

'Candy'. Lia rolled her eyes, about to rush out how this 'Candy' character stole/took/what-fucking-ever Armin and Kim away from her, if not doing it in such a way that it could not even be described (because Lia had no idea how she was going to explain how Candy was a bad individual). "Candy sounds like a nice person."

Castiel eyed her for a moment with an unreadable expression. He took a long drawl of his cigar and breathed out of his nose. "I guess she kinda is. Whatever, I don't give a shit, alright?"

A smirk appeared on her face and a light bulb flashed on top of her head. "Do you like her or something?"

('Or something' was such a common phrase heard when hanging with Lia. It can get quite annoying. Or something.)

"Shut the fuck up, Clumsy. Don't make me tell the whole world you're crawling after that video game guy," Castiel responded, an icy smile on his mouth. "I mean, it's not like nobody knows that already. Oh wait, nobody knows you."

Lia pouted. "Thanks for lowering my self-esteem, Castiel. I appreciate it."

"No problem. I'd love to do it more often too."

"You're just being mean now, 'Cassy'."

Throwing his cigarette out the window, he rolled up his window. "Your mom is mean."

"My mom is blind, so you better leave her out of this," Lia said, throwing her empty wrapper out the window. The wind pushed it far away, right beside a garbage can. Lia felt a moment of sadness for how eager the wrapper wanted to go inside. So, so eager. She wiped away a small tear.

"Wow, you're hilarious."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned to him. "No, no; I'm serious. My mom's blind and she's currently chitchatting with doctors in some kind of hospital."

There was a long silence, going at a slow pace, and Lia turned back to the wrapper. It was now sitting behind the garbage can, away from view. Lia gave a salute.

"Shit, I'm sorry…" Castiel trailed off. When Lia looked at him, he had a genuine sadness on his face. Hm, interesting. "Fuck, I am so, so sorry."

Waving him off, Lia sighed. "Eh, it's okay. You didn't know. Common mistake," she laughed. "Everyone gets the same reaction when they figure it out." Yawning again, she gave a pleased hazy expression.

"Sleepy? Too bad for you; school's over in ten minutes. Now, get out of my car and go home." Castiel chuckled, reaching over and opening the door for her. "There's the way out if you haven't noticed."

Sticking her tongue out, she grabbed her backpack (which she was carrying around with her dimly all day) and let herself out. She could just walk home for now. Lia's house wasn't even that far from here, unlike the grocery store. And plus, she had some important things to do.

* * *

Lia's father and mother divorced a few years before they moved here. They let each other go on a high note, though. It wasn't like they hated each other. It was just that her dad decided 'it wasn't working out between them' and her mom very well agreed. The only person that was against the idea was Lia, but she soon realized it was best for the both of them. You know, before her mother got bumped into while driving. They _really_ needed a walking dog.

(Although, her mother liked calling herself 'an only parent'. Lia never understood why.)

Anyway, Lia was less than affected by the divorce. Yeah, she was alone, but she knew it was for the better. Who gave a shit; being alone had its ups and downs. And plus, she had her neighbors as a bonus. See, she was _barely_ alone.

(That's funny because her neighbors ignored her existence most of the time unless they needed some extra jam or crap like that. They took advantage of her groceries. Fucking bastards.)

Stepping into her apartment and narrowly missing tripping over her own feet, she inhaled the smell of loneliness. (Did you just see that? Wow, poetic shit right there, Lia McDonald. What a Shakespeare you are!) Her fingers were freezing. And she was still holding her empty drink cup. Lia threw it in the garbage to her left and toed off her boots, laying down on the comfy sofa – also lamely named 'The Thinking Spot' because she is a childish nincompoop.

Groaning when she realized she smelled like smoke and grease, she slapped her hand on to her cheek. Her face felt slightly frozen as did her toes, but her neck felt dangerously hot. Lia felt a wave of goose bumps appear on her arm, and she winced.

And then thoughts exploded in her brain.

Since her father was visiting, she needed to buy a quality gift for him. _Quality_, not a mug with the words 'Best Dad Ever', one which she sent him over the mail every year. The thing about quality gifts, though, were how expensive they were. Either she needed another part-time job or she needed to take some money out of her college saving funds.

The job idea seemed a bit too stressful for her. She was already juggling having one job and school to pay half of her rent (the other half was paid by her mother and Aunt Meredith), so having another job wouldn't work out as successfully as she would hope it would.

…But if she took money out of her savings, she wouldn't have the close to the full amount to go to college, which is in one and a half years. Shit, the cost to go to Sweet Amoris College was thirty-three grand. She had nothing close to that yet, only about ten thousand, which she got from her mother's savings and herself working like a madman.

Yeah, sure, she could ask her dad for some money, but that wouldn't operate as well as she would want it to. Her father would have some kind of dull excuse saying that he couldn't afford this or that. Another reason why she pretended to enjoy her gifts her father gave her when she was younger (they were shit, seriously).

Lia also needed some money to pay off some of the debts she owed for the private school she used to go to when she was in middle school (before her life went bankrupt). Her mom already paid as much as she could, and her father had to pay the rest. Her dad clearly could 'not afford' it, so Lia decided to be an angel and told him she would pay the rest of his side of the deal.

Thus, Lia was a poor bitch that was hoping for some money to pop out of thin air. She just prayed that it would happen sooner.

* * *

And that is how Lia found herself applying for another job the next day.

She was going to need the money soon enough. Christmas was only four weeks away, damn it. So, as Lia stood in front of an old shack-looking building, she heaved a sigh. _Here goes nothing, _Lia thought glumly.

All she needed to do was sign up, have some stupid interview, then leave. Lia would just have to wait a day or two or a week or _fucking forever_ until she received some kind of answer. Bad or good. Lia hoped it was the latter.

Once she put her foot in the building, she realized how big it was inside. The outside looked so, so small, but the inside was just 'holy shit' worthy. Looking at the sign on the left, Lia noted how this was a 'discount store'. Very notable. Lia let her fingers glide up the bricks on the wall; they were nice. This place seemed great to work in.

"Hey, stop touching the bricks!"

Frowning and shaking her head once she noticed the familiar tone of the voice, she turned around. "Castiel, why do you always show up out of nowhere these days? I'm trying to live a normal life and you're ruining it for me," she said, wiping away a nonexistent tear. The redhead simply glared.

"No, Clumsy, it's the other way around," he scowled, clearly annoyed. Lia expressed how her annoyance was greater than his annoyance by glaring at him. Castiel moved to the front desk. "Now, what the fuck do you want?"

Pressing her lips together, Lia tapped the brick wall. "I'm applying for a job."

It was weird. Yesterday (their last meeting), he wasn't a dickhead. He changed over the course of seventeen hours. That was sad because Lia was almost learning how to deal with his mean behavior. A point lost by Team Lia.

And then, he started smiling.

"Go find another place to work. As you can see, this is my territory," Castiel smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you want a job, go apply to become Nathaniel's assistant or some prissy shit like that."

Lia was beyond pissed. Castiel was being an asshole, pretty much because he didn't want to 'share' a job between them. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head. "No, I will not. I walked a long way here and I will not go back without a job. So, if you could just _shut up_ and leave me be, I think we're going to have some peace."

"Nah, actually, you can have the job. I think it'll be fun to bother you all the time," was the devilish reply and Castiel walked away, helping out a customer far back. Lia thought of just running the hell away, but she really needed the money. To her, getting yelled at for two hours every day didn't seem as bad as being broke. Again, Lia took the risk, waiting at the table for the owner to have a talk with her.

It seemed like she was taking more risks than she usually did.

* * *

I am such a loser, I swear. This probably has so many errors. Anyway, I hope you sweet people enjoy this chapter! I was going to post this yesterday, but uh, I suck. The quote at the start of the chapter is from the game Gears of Wars. I'm sorry, I'm a nerd.


	6. Things

_**The beginning of a truly beautiful friendship.**_

Lia got the job.

C'mon, it was predictable. The store had low standards about who they wanted to hire, which was probably why they let Castiel worked there. And plus, all Lia had to do was either be the cashier, unbox some new products, or wash the store top to bottom. Clearly, Castiel would not let her touch the cash register, so that was off the list. In conclusion, job was to wash the store or unbox stuff (yes, she got two jobs. But it wasn't like she was complaining). Sounds pretty easy, huh?

No, it was _not_. First of all, the whole store was always dusty and even when you clean it, in an hour or two it becomes a mess. And although she had a personal training of how to unbox shit, she learned that the boxes they had here were extremely thick compared to the ones in the grocery store and they didn't even have a box cutter. So, Lia had to _rip _them open by _hand_, which took around fifteen minutes at a time. And what was so fucking annoying was how by the end of her shift, her fingers were calloused and sore and she reeked of bleach. Then when you look at the lazy redhead by the cashier's counter, Castiel is sitting down, reading through some magazine. That just brought so much anger in her.

But hey, it wasn't like she got an inappropriate amount of money from it, though. Sure, she had to jump out of her skin for this job. Sure, it was a lot of work. Still, it was worth every drip of bleach that entered her little fingers. When the first week was over, she earned enough to buy gifts for her parents, her friend(s), and her own groceries all the while having extra money left.

When Lia began her second week of her new job, she was regretting it, but there was a small part of her that was excited. She was getting a shit-ton of money, alright? Who wouldn't be excited? Opening the door, Lia stepped in, smelling the scent of cigarettes and cologne. Castiel was definitely here.

Slipping off her gloves, she shoved them in her pocket, taking off her parka at the same time. This was probably the only time she ever wanted to be assigned to be the cashier. Anything was better than having all the nutrients on her skin scraped off under five minutes.

Lia sniffed, reaching up to tie her hair back. Why did she still feel so cold? Cursing the weather, she quickly moved to start her job, fingers clenched at her sides. What to do…

Stopping at the middle of the store, Lia paused. What did she have to do today? The store looked very clean, and no other boxes were left to open since the girl already shredded every single one. More boxes were probably coming in the next day, but today there wasn't any. Looking down, she noted how the floor was so clean she could even see her reflection.

(She waved.)

Biting her cheeks and wondering if she could just leave, Lia looked around once more. She shrugged. Maybe they invited some janitor person to clean up? Or maybe there were no other customers since the last time she cleaned up?

The latter seemed much more realistic. "Hello? Anyone here?" Lia inwardly kicked herself after those words escaped out of her mouth. No shit, Sherlock. When there wasn't any immediate answer to her (stupid) question, she frowned. Alright, she'd just call the owner/manager guy and tell him she would leave. Seemed reasonable, and she had an excuse.

(_"The store was already clean," _she'd say, her natural voice so quiet it was barely heard. She'd have to repeat it a few times before he hears her. _"Of course, Lia McDonald. You can leave anytime you want! Have fun, darling!" _the manager would answer. Lia would give herself a thumbs up and a wink.)

Tapping the marble countertop, Lia hummed a broken, mainstream tune out of boredom. She just wanted to go home and finish her own chores. Not to mention that she had a six page essay due the next day. Her fingers began to rapidly tap it now, harder than before, until her fingernails throbbed. She continued, though, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration as she watched how _weird_ her fingers looked and why the _hell_ were her—

"Stop making that fucking noise!"

Lia had the decency to quit the tapping, guiltiness washing over her features. But when she saw the stupid redhead with his stupid jacket, she started tapping again.

"Clumsy, put your goddamn hands where I can see them," Castiel warned, inching forward with steady steps. Lia decided to let her knuckles take over, knocking as fucking hard as she could on to the tabletop. Turning to her hand, she noted how white her knuckles were, and she let her hand unclench slightly. Then, she stopped, a look of utter triumph on her face when she saw how pissed Castiel was.

Add another point for Lia.

Right when Lia let her hand drop off the table, Castiel pounced on her, pining her hands on to the ground. He stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on holding a good grip. The girl under him screeched, her fingers itching to massage the area her head ached from hitting the floor. "Let go of me," she cried (maybe literally), kicking her legs. Her expression turned dark. "Get off, Castiel_. I will fucking ruin you once you get off of me_."

Castiel sighed, laughing a little too because apparently watching a poor chick wriggle beneath you is _fucking hilarious_. "No thanks. Now, shut up, Lia. You're gonna wake up the rats."

Wrists held above her head and her waist straddled by the other, Lia practically snarled as she squirmed, trying to get out of the tight grasp. "Get off, lard ass," she whispered, whining when the weight on top of her became even heavier and she could feel her organs dancing in her stomach.

"What did you call me, tiny bitch?" jeered Castiel, his smile smoothing out his features. If Lia could actually talk without wheezing, she would point out how it was pretty cool to see him not looking like he was going to punch someone out within ten meters beside him.

"I called you a lard ass, you _goddamn lard ass_," she retorted, squirming desperately now; she was even considering if she could squeeze her leg up so she could kick him. "Seriously, Castiel. You're going to kill my intestines."

Castiel was sweetly oblivious to the girl's knee that was slowly lining up by his lower backside. "Intestines are for pussies. But I guess I expected that from you."

Then suddenly (but not so surprisingly), Castiel howled, letting go of her wrists and swearing colorfully, his eyes wide and looking at her as if she was the murderer of someone's wife. Well. Lia gave a smug smile and she crossed her hands over her chest, still beneath him and not wanting to get out because really, this was a once in a life time opportunity that would probably cause her to have two black eyes by the end of the day. It was worth it.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship indeed.

* * *

Lia wavered slightly before she knocked on the student council room door, immediately retreating her hand when her knuckles met the worn wood. Contemplating whether she should run off, she heaved a breath. This is a new experience. Lia had only done this once, and she really never went back here ever again.

The door swung open, and a blonde guy – who she knows professionally as Nathaniel – stepped forward in front of her, a pretentious smile pressed on to his coral-colored lips. "Hello," he greeted, stretching out his hand for her to shake. "Are you the new student?"

Lia's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, shaking her head 'no'. She rolled on the balls of her feet, sucking the inside of her mouth. "The principal wanted me to inform you that she needed help with something." Looking behind him, she gasped when she saw piles of papers sitting on a table and one pen next to them. "I am so sorry for interrupting you when you had a bunch of things to do, oh my God, I am so-"

Nathaniel laughed, interrupting her from her rambling. She stopped, looking at him with a tilted head. "I do this all the time. It's my job."

Lia's arms hanged loosely at her sides although her hands were clenched, stepping back and whispering, "Okay," over and over again. Nathaniel stared at her with mild fear – because really, she was going crazy due to how intimidating he was – before nodding and walking off toward the principal's office.

Noticing now that she was holding her breath, she let it all out in a rush, pressing a frozen hand to her forehead. Nobody told her he was that scary. Then again, nobody tells her anything.

But at first, Lia thought this Nathaniel character was probably the nicest creature in the history of Sweet Amoris High School. It wasn't like he wasn't nice, he just stared right through her soul, a permanent smile tapped on like magic on to his mouth.

Still breathing hard, she spun around, her toes curled in her shoes as she walked. Her arms continued to dangle around because she was still in a post-shock – possibly because she hasn't felt someone stare at her for so long. Her breathing began to slow down at rhythmic paces, but her heart continued to beat with unnatural force, irregularly. She laced her fingers together as she took one step at a time before her face contacted with somebody's back.

Because she was still in a daze, she screamed; shriller than she knew she could. Lia was still standing up, but her eyes were closed shut. She didn't fall, no, she didn't, but it was still scary. She shrieked again once her mouth was covered by a hand. Opening her eyes, she furrowed her eyebrows, slapping the hand away from her lips.

"Don't touch me," Lia growled, still shaking. Again, she pressed her hand to her forehead, looking around. A sigh of relief escaped her raw lips when she saw nobody else in the hallway. Good. They were at class. It was certainly weird how no teacher had heard her. Not to brag or anything, but that scream was _really_ loud.

Castiel wiped his hand on her shoulder. "You licked me, asshole," he said, a genuinely disgusted look on his face. She glared at him, preparing to take a swift stride before she was stopped.

"What do you want?" she asked, impatience biting at her toes. She had to return back to the principal. Lia knew very well that Principal Shermansky hated when you don't inform her whatever happens next, even if it's positive. And she knew this with much knowledge.

"You didn't apologize?" teased Castiel, leaning back against the lockers. Lia frowned, tapping her foot on to the ground. Castiel continued, crossing his arms over his chest. "And why're you roaming around the hallway?"

Scoffing in an obvious manner, Lia stiffened. "Duh, because I'm helping out the principal?" _And I'm stalking on Nathaniel_, she thought glumly. "Why are you standing around? Don't you have class?"

"Because I can, dipshit," Castiel replied nonchalantly, his smirk growing. Lia shifted uncomfortably which made Castiel's deceitful grin widen. "What are you trying to do, huh? I know your gonna spit it out."

Lia pressed her lips together to calm herself. He was right. She was going to say it sometime or other. Parting her mouth slightly, she breathed. Why was it suddenly so hot?

"Well?" Castiel said expectantly, a playful smile on his lips.

And the words all rushed out.

"So, anyway, I was supposed to ask Nathaniel if he was available for a while because the principal needed him. And then when I asked him, it was super awkward and stuff and then he left and I decided, fuck it, I'll just follow the guy. That's how I am here and you're asking this question which I think it utter bullshit," she rambled on, her fingers laced together tightly and embarrassment visible on her face.

Castiel stared at her for one moment before laughing hysterically. "You're such a stalker, Lia. That sounds so stupid and it doesn't even make any sense. Why are you following him anyway? He's not even interesting," Castiel chuckled. Lia looked around again, still wondering _how_ the _hell_ she was currently standing in an empty hallway without a teacher coming from the cacophony.

"Because," she whispered softly, "I wanted to see what he does, y'know? He seems interesting." And that was true. Nathaniel was the student body president, for fuck's sake. He probably had millions of duties to do and maybe he did some cool shit from time to time.

Castiel scowled, and Lia regretted what she had said. Of course he didn't feel comfortable talking about Nathaniel. He was his enemy, for past issues Lia didn't know yet. Even though she was undeniably always questioning (which was super annoying, especially to her), she didn't want to come in and say something about it. Who cares? "I'll tell you something, Lia. He's not interesting," Castiel muttered. Lia sucked in her cheek. "And if you're so curious, just go ask him, asshole."

"Okay," Lia said, unaware to how he was shooting her with a glare. "Thanks for the advice, Castiel." Her last sentence was supposed to be _dripping_ with sarcasm, but it didn't sound as sarcastic as she wanted. Damn her and her horrible attempts to being cool. Spinning around, she made her way to her locker, away from Castiel. Alright, she was not going to spy on Nathaniel. It was going to fail, anyway. Better if she never does it all.

* * *

Lia was not in a good mood. Here's some three reasons why:

First of all, she got soap in her eyes when she was taking a shower. No, she didn't cry. Crying was for pussies, and Lia was not a pussy. So, instead of letting that get away with her emotions, she washed it out and simply winced when her eyes began to sting a bit harsher than necessary.

Second, she was so fucking tired. She didn't have one solid minute of sleep in almost two days (forty-five hours) because the neighbor's children were screaming like mad for those specific days. They were shit-filled brats and if Lia got her hands on those little assholes—

Third (part one), her apartment became colder than it was legal to be. As Lia began to drift off to sleep the night before, she felt an icy breeze even if she had her quilt pulled right under her chin. Her feet were frozen and she could not stand up without feeling completely naked. It was disgusting and Lia really wanted to send a little message to the government and beg them for some back up because seriously, these fuck-faces in her building clearly did not give a shit about her. So, in conclusion, Lia needed to get a lawyer a.s.a.p. because her life was in complete danger.

Third (part two), she had work. At first, Lia contemplated whether it was better if she just stayed in her frosty bed for the next twenty years or if she went to the discount store to finish her job of killing her nails (which weren't worth caring for, honestly). Stupidly enough, she picked the latter option.

And now, she grimaced as she swallowed an Advil, washing it down her dry throat with a glass of warm water. Cold water made her sick. _Everything_ was cold and _everything_ sucked and could she go back to bed now?

She shook her head tiredly, watching the room tilt with amusement. She was going to faint somewhere out there and she would never be found. Lia sighed, her fingers snaking shakily through her hair. This was not right, and not legal, either. Looking to her watch, she realized with a startled curse that if she dawdled any longer, she would miss the bus. And if she missed the bus, she would miss her shift. If she missed her shift, she wouldn't get the minimum wage. Every penny counted, and losing out on one would mean she would be in trouble.

Bouncing through her rather spartanly furnished apartment, her slightly damp hair bobbing along with her, she kicked on her boots, moving back into the living room to look out the window. Holy shit, it was snowing. How did she not notice this?

Lia bumped her forehead with distaste and annoyance on to the window, groaning. Snow sucked. A lot.

Moving back to the door, Lia gave one quick-glance her apartment as she slipped on her parka – pictures of her and her and her father hung snuggly on the wall, her television set sitting blankly on its tabletop, three ratty sofas in their respective spots, and that was more or less her living room. A sigh escaped her lips. What she would give to—

Ugh, _fuck it_.

Lia turned on her heel, slamming the door so hard she heard the widows rattle in their frames. She rushed down the stairs, jumping down all six last steps and grinning evilly to herself. This was fun. It would certainly be better if she had all her apartment members standing below the last stair so she could jump on their bodies until they realized this girl deserved to be apologized to.

Lia McDonald sometimes questioned if her neighbors knew they lived with a future serial killer.

Looking back at her watch, her eyes relaxed when she saw that she had about twenty minutes to get to the store. Good. Enough time to plan the deaths of her enemies, surely?

Lia also questioned her sanity.

* * *

Arriving the store, her body and brain half conscious, she let out a stifled sigh. Her fingers were numb beneath her gloves and she couldn't feel her toes. Lia slipped off her parka and hanged it on a hook on the wall, leaving her boots in beside the door. She groggily stepped into her other pair of shoes and she practically groaned as she began to walk.

Muffling a sigh with the back of her hand, Lia held in a sneeze, searching through a broom closet for the essential cleaning appliance. But the thing is, she didn't want to work today. She felt too tired and she knew for sure that if she moved a few more steps, her limbs would buckle.

Once Lia found the broom, bucket, and mop, she and her wary body moved along. Was it even possible to still be standing when her body was completely swept of sleep? Her eyes threatened to close, but she kept them open this time.

_Just stay awake, Lia_, she thought to herself. _You can do this. _

But, in all honestly, she certainly couldn't. She was a seventeen-year old with a sleeping pattern that was surprisingly impossible to relate to. Most people slept for eight hours and still have the audacity to murmur, "Oh my god, I am so tired," every single second, but this girl just was 'what the fuck?' worthy.

So, as Lia (who didn't even realize she had filled up the bucket with water and soap and was currently sweeping) gathered up all the rest of her bravery, she kept her eyes open and swished the broom around, humming along to another mainstream tune that was being played on the radio. If she kept awake now, she could make it to the grocery store safely and survive.

Since she skipped three days of work in the grocery store by using the scheming and popular 'sick' card, she really, really needed to go to back. If she doesn't, there is a chance she'd lose her job.

"Hurry up. I have to lock down the store and you're so slow," Castiel said, appearing around the corner. He looked amused and barely bored. "I have band practice."

Lia perked upwards, her bones cracking painfully. She winced, and so did the redhead. "I'm tired and sad and _fucking leave me alone, you doucheball, I'll finish when I want to finish_," she whispered hoarsely, no humour hidden in her tone. She glared as hard as she could.

"You look like you're about to pass out." Castiel gave her a 'concerned' look. "Do I need to call the ambulance?"

Lia coughed. "No. Let me finish my job, please." She swept the floor once more before a wave of sleep washed over her senses. Her fingers clenched the wood harshly until it splintered her skin. Lia didn't flinch, her knuckles white.

Castiel shook his head merely. "I know you're gonna barf or something."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are, asshole."

"No I am not, you fucking tomato, get the hell out of my face before I grab it and rip it apart. The girls will not be happy," she grunted darkly, a smile plastered on her face although it was faltered and tired.

Castiel groaned, clearly not in the mood to argue. "Okay, sure. But if you puke, you better clean it up," he said, turning away and walking out the door while throwing his jacket on himself.

Lia sighed, staring at her fingers that were covered in bleach and ripping apart. She had three hours to finish this shit and she knew she could finish it in only an hour. So, maybe if she just sat down for a while, nothing would happen.

A grin settling on her face, she slowly moved, leaning snuggly against the wall. This was good.

It didn't take longer than three minutes for her to sleep.

* * *

Hiya! Alright, I am so, so sorry I didn't post this. I made it a while ago, actually. Thank you people for following, reviewing, and favorite-ing this story! -splashes love around for everyone-


	7. The Snowman

_**Wherein she rants about money and how she totally isn't afraid of Castiel.**_

Lia sighed. It was the first Sunday she had all to herself. Winter break fortunately arrived, and she was definitely looking forward to lying around like the lazy person she was and always will be. The good thing about it was how it was keeping school a great distance away from her.

Winter break only gave her a two-day vacation for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Still, it's worth it. Work sucked, but school was worse.

When Lia was fifteen, she began to apply for a handful of jobs. Her mother was living with her at that time, of course, and so was her father, but Lia had this little feeling that something bad was going to occur soon. So, gathering all her confidence and senses, she went off, writing complete bullshit all over her resumes. Since she had no experience at all, they didn't come out very good. By the end of that month, she received feedback. Literally half of them were negative, but at least two or three were okay. Lia, as stupid as she is, chose one. She knew she couldn't handle three jobs at once, so she thought it would be appropriate if she picked one.

Yeah, it wasn't her smartest choice. Mainly because her life began to transform into a dry tomato faster than she expected it to.

A soft groan escaping her lips, Lia smacked a hand on to her face. Doesn't it seem so realistic to see a seventeen year old in straitened circumstances? Possibly not.

In Sweet Amoris, the majority of the population were filthy rich. Not like dirty rich, as in they were fucking nasty little shits, but super, super money-hungry rich – there's a difference, right? Anyway, even teenagers flashed their cash in a flaunting manner while they walked to the nearest club to throw money at strippers and spent thousands of dollars in a week eating food straight out of _Chipotle_.

Okay, maybe she was exaggerating a little, but Lia wasn't lying when she said half of this town were wealthy assholes with poles up their asses. She had a small experience with those kind of people, and she would be judging if she said everyone here were like that. There were certainly some people who were actually pretty nice, though.

Even the students in her school that had a job were a part of the high class community. Castiel mentioned once that the only reason he was working at the discount store was to buy a new guitar for his band. He said that his parents were gone somewhere and he didn't want to ask them, so he would just buy it himself with the money he earns from the job and then quit.

What a bastard.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Lia sat down, realizing how messed up her relationship with Castiel was. At first, she thinks he's cool and nice, and then a second later she's raging and crying to Armin about how he was such a fucking bully. And when he does something kind to her, he just acts like a douchebag so his benevolence doesn't mean shit.

Sighing, she laid back down. Fuck this confusing crap, she was going to sleep.

* * *

"Why did we have to come here?" Armin whined, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Lia accusingly. "The park is gross itself. Now it has disgusting slushy snow."

Lia shrugged, chuckling. "Because I wanted to and you agreed. You should've listened to what I was saying." She fell on her knees, gathering a bunch of sticky snow into a pile. The girl turned to the brown-haired male behind her that was looking more confused than bothered. "And Kentin also said yes."

"I came too!" Alexy beamed, dropping to his knees as well. "But I hope I don't get my pants dirty. These are expensive and stylish," he added knowingly.

Kentin, who was looking beyond uncomfortable, cleared his throat as he peered elsewhere. "Can we go to another park? This one isn't very…" he trailed off, again looking behind Lia's head. He let out a small wail before turning back to her, eyes wide. "Let's go now, please! I beg you, come on!" He tugged on her hoodie, backing her up as he attempted to trudge away.

"Kentin!" Lia shouted, steadying herself as she slapped his hand off her hood. "Why'd you want to leave so bad?" Leaning in, she whispered, "Did you forget your cookies? Have no fear; I have some in my pocket…"

Armin laughed loudly and Alexy snickered, causing Kentin to blush a dark red hue across his cheeks. Once again, he gazed behind Lia, looking frantic. "I just think it would be better if we leave here. I mean, it's not as pretty as the park on Main Street."

"What are you looking at, Army Boy?" Armin said, squinting to look at what the other was staring at. Then, he broke into a hysterical laughing fit, close to wheezing. "It doesn't make any sense how you survived military school but don't think you can survive staying in the same park as Castiel. That's just sad, Kenny."

Lia grumbled softly, watching Kentin splutter dismissively. She spun around, narrowing her eyes at Castiel who had his back turned to them, his dog in tow behind him probably taking a wee. Seriously? Was this guy trashing her break too? Lia smacked herself inwardly, hating how in a minute or so she'd be all friendly to him. Her personality was fucking weird.

"Isn't it a coincidence that Kentin _and _Lia have the same afraid expression on their faces?" Alexy teased, nudging the two victims. "Houston, I think we have a problem," he added, falling into the snow again with a chirpy laugh. Lia frowned and threw a disgusted look at the twins, embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she stuck her nose in the air, making herself look a little less scared. "I am sick of you two. Alexy, don't ask me to be your shopping gal anymore." As she said this, Alexy watched her with a regretful glint in his eyes. "And Armin," she began, a smirk tugging at her lips, "Don't expect me to polish your game console or play with you to have you obviously beat me for your own amusement!" Lia high-fived Kentin, feeling more proud of her wording.

"But Lia," Alexy whined, a deep pout settling on his face. "It's almost Christmas! And you're not going to receive a present from me if you keep up with this attitude!" Although Armin's shaking his head while chuckling, he managed to add in a little thumbs up toward his brother, showing him that he agreed. Lia frowned. Fuck him and his multitasking skills.

Kentin wavered next to her, not knowing what to do. Lia elbowed his shoulder. "Please back me up," she whispered. The brown-haired teenager stammered a bit before speaking.

"Um, y-you—Lia doesn't care," he said finally, giving a dignified tilt of his head. Kentin continued, clearing feeling comfortable with the current confidence he suddenly gained. "She doesn't care because she won't get you a present either. I guess Lia wins."

Feeling like she had been awarded a _Grammy_, Lia slapped a hand on to her chest, nodding mutely as she felt the greatness wash over her. It felt way better to be told that you've won instead of being told that you lost something. And yes, Lia is pointing her last sentence toward Armin.

"Well," Armin started, huffing as he, very slowly and with a dramatically disgusted expression pressed on to his face, gathered up some snow. "I'm not in the mood to argue or make fun of you two. I actually wanna do something, so help me out, guys." Lia joined him on the snow-grabbing, followed by a confused looking Kentin. Alexy had already created a pile and was peering at it with concentration.

"Snowman." Was the only word spoken from the blue-haired boy as he flashed a smile to the others, who were on to the plan and were attempting to make some snowballs. Lia hummed, wondering how she even ended up coming outside to build a fucking snowman as if she was a character from Frozen.

Lia's morning started off as normal. She took a shower, brushed her teeth, stuffed an apple in her mouth (what was the point of eating an apple when her teeth were clean?), and then received an immediate call from Armin. Apparently, he was also bored and he wanted some entertainment because his parents took all of his video games away for something he did. Whatever it was, it must've been vile because his mother and father were pretty casual and weren't bothered at all no matter the situation.

And now, she's adding the finishing touch – her scarf – on to the snowman, a soft smile on her lips. This was probably the only time she had smiled without something horrible or barely funny behind it, and it felt kind of good to let herself feel at ease. "It looks great, doesn't it?" Lia breathed, throwing some hair away from her face. Armin looked fairly unamused, but he also had a small glisten in his blue eyes that agreed.

Alexy nodded. The violet-eyed boy's beam widened as he tugged off his earmuffs, putting them on the snowman's head. "I like it," he answered, giving a salute. "I hope nothing happens to it, though!"

Coincidentally on cue, Castiel's dog ran right through it, barking like a madman and running in circles. Lia froze, feeling rage coil inside of her. But what could she do to an innocent dog? Nothing, actually, unless she wanted to get attacked by around half of the population of Sweet Amoris' animal lovers. Lia bended down, picking up the stray earmuffs and scarf. She tried to ignore Castiel's roars of laughter, but it was getting on her nerves quicker than she expected it to.

As she trudged up to the redhead, feeling a little thundercloud above her head, Lia bit back the urge to slap him across the face. He probably set his beast dog up for this to ruin whatever she was going to do. "Castiel," she growled a bit, hating how he continued to laugh. "What in the name of hell is wrong with you? Letting your dog out loose on a _snowman_?" Lia tsk'ed. "What kind of person are you?"

"What kind of seventeen year old makes a snowman?" Castiel retorted, chuckling a little louder. "You're such an immature asshole." He ignored the visible anger that was flashing through the female's green eyes, the dark rage that flickered wildly as she glared at him. She was trying to figure out how she could jump him and pretend it was an accident, but this stupid town was so peaceful that if she did, Lia would maybe get a life sentence in jail. Fuck.

Lia pressed her lips together. "And you're not going to apologize for making your beasty dog run through our art?" Suddenly, Castiel's dog laid across her feet in a fond manner, quietly moaning. She sucked in her cheeks, feeling fear crawl up her spine. Shit. "Castiel…Take your dog off me, please," she pleaded.

"Hey, don't push it, Greeny," Castiel growled a bit, possibly upset over her insulting his pet. "You're not consider a friend if you insult Demon, bitch." He then flashed a smirk. "And I think he likes you."

About to reply, Lia froze. Friend? When did they become friends? Swallowing the sudden bile in her throat, she stiffened before answering. "Funny," she grumbled wearily. "And may I ask, how are we 'friends'?" Her question was hallow but it was more of the fact she was stunned beyond belief. A stupid thing to go crazy about, but really? Castiel and Lia sat on different sides of the popularity radar at school, and it just sounded weird on her tongue to say that she and the redhead were _friends_.

"That's the stupidest question ever, but I expected it from you. Anyway, if I actually take my time to insult you at least a few times a week, you're lucky enough to join my ship." Castiel bended over, picking up the end of the leash that was on the floor next to his dog, which Lia knew now as Demon. "You sound like you've never had someone say that before. I guess I take that back, then!" He spun around, already making his way toward the exit of the park.

Lia spluttered, realizing how desperate she was/sounded like. "Don't take it back," she whispered loud enough. Shit, look at how stupid she was being. _Lia, this is not the saddest thing ever_, she thought saucily to herself. _Stop being a bitch_. "Cause we're friends." She made jazz-hands, a delicate smile on her lips. But inwardly, she was going mad, wondering how the boys behind her were keeping quiet. This was, by far, the most idiotic thing she has ever done, hands-fucking-down.

And then, since she was so motherfucking hilarious, Castiel roared laughter. Taken aback, she turned around to the others as if to say, "What the hell is wrong with _this _guy?" but they were also giggling their stupid heads off. Lia groaned. She needed new 'friends'.

* * *

Actually, if she thinks about it enough, Aunt Meredith had never seen Lia's apartment. Yes, she did buy it for her, but Auntie hadn't taken the time to really _look _at how the inside was so messed up. The exterior was quite decorative, to say the least; the whole building was colored a light, warm blue and each door was painted white. Maybe Aunt Meredith forgot about those kind of details. She was those kind of people that overlooked situations.

Aunt Meredith was Lia's mother's sister. On her free time, she went around like a lunatic, dressed in fairy wings and her hair colored a deep magenta that matched her pink contacts. For the most part of her adulthood, she was a birthday entertainer for children until she _suddenly_ became a business manager of some toy company. It was so unexpected, but Auntie usually got her ways. She could talk around anything, really, to get whatever she wants.

Too bad she doesn't know how to use that skill properly.

Auntie was maybe-kind of-really stupid sometimes. Lia knew she couldn't describe her favourite aunt – _aunt_ nonetheless - that way, but it was true. Lia wondered if Aunt Meredith was finally getting the results after the hair color change, which made her a bit of an idiot. Seriously, though; Auntie enjoyed long walks down aisles in the fucking grocery store (without buying anything. She wouldn't look at anything either. Instead, she would follow people around in hopes of creating a new friend) and eating cereal every night at three a.m. while watching replays of _Garfield's Christmas_. Her personality was likable, though, but Lia couldn't help but feel awkward around her sometimes. Still, she was a great aunt.

Lia doesn't remember the last time she's seen Auntie either. Probably the first day she arrived in Sweet Amoris? And then she lived with her for about four months, then got her own apartment, courtesy of Aunt Meredith. That was almost two years ago now. Auntie hadn't visited either, only calling occasionally to ask her if she was okay. Nothing more, nothing less.

Really, Lia has always thought of Auntie as a sibling. Maybe it was because of how childish her aunt was. Being an only child, Lia was always alone. Her mother and father were at work all the time, and the poor kid had to be watched over by the most immature person that could be named, obviously Auntie. Still, Lia was thankful for that.

"Of course you can come over for Christmas! It'll be great since dad's coming over too." Lia said, a grin spread across her face. She held her cellphone pressed her ear as she stuffed a slice of pizza into her mouth. Greasy, but cheesy. "I'd love to have you here."

A fluttery chuckle floated from across the line and into Lia's ear. "_I can't wait! And I'll bring cookies, too_," Auntie gushed. Lia could even imagine the big-ass smile that was probably on her face. "_I know you love my cookies, Lianne!_"

Lia smacked a hand on to her face. It was a shame Auntie still called her that. And it was also a shame Auntie constantly writes 'Lia' as 'Leah'. That could've been her name spelling, yes, but Lia's mother was in too much pain when she was figuring out a name and her dad was too annoyed to even notice the mistake. "Can't wait to see you, too. Anyway, I have to go. See you," Lia spoke, lying through her teeth. No, she didn't _really_ have to go. But this conversation was about to take an awkward turn, and Lia knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

Quickly hanging up the phone as soon as Auntie melodically answered, Lia took another bite of her pizza, grimacing when she felt oil dribble down her chin. The disadvantages of eating pizza at six in the evening. A sigh forced itself out of her now empty mouth as she wiped away remains of her food off her face.

Lia wasn't really a fan of buying pizza. One, because half of the ones she bought tasted like cardboard; and two, because they were so goddamn expensive. But she wasn't keen on making food herself, either. And she actually found a place that sold these darn Italian pies for a cheap price right beside her home.

On to another subject: Christmas was in two days. So, Lianne McDonald had to get off her small, lazy ass and make herself – and her apartment – presentable for her upcoming guests, her father and her very own aunt. The thing that sucked about these people coming was because of how much they hated each other. Well, her dad hated Aunt Meredith. The reason was unknown, but Lia could guess that it was due to how far Auntie could get up someone's rear end in a minute or less with her chirpy voice and weird humor and crazy antics and the way she put maple syrup on everything and how she enjoyed talking about topics that shouldn't even be spoken at the dinner table and—

Anyway, Lia literally had work in thirty minutes and instead she was sitting on a carpet and eating. On other days, she would be up and running and the first one there at her shift, without obviously Castiel and the rest of her employees. Oh, something else: Lia befriended this tiny, purple-haired girl who drew pictures at her break times and barely spoke. All Lia had to do was say 'hello' and they were friends. Or at least she thought they were. The other girl, who said her name was Violette, nodded back a greeting and introduced herself. Lia wasn't good at this friendship crap, but Violette didn't seem like she was either.

(Lia was reading a novel called '_How to Make Friends in an Hour or Less'_. That pretty much explained how she knew all this stuff.)

Shoving the pizza box away from her, she stood up, dusting herself off. Limping toward the coat hanger, she threw on her parka and toed on her boots before she realized she probably looked like shit. So, she ran all the way to the bathroom, managed to take a quick shower after staring at herself for five minutes, put on some clean clothes and finally, she waddled back to her entrance door. Her hair was still a bit wet, but it didn't matter. It was just the after effects of taking showers.

Locking the door behind her, she stumbled out of her apartment, walked all the way down the stairs without thinking violently and forcing herself to step away from the fire alarm, and rushed out the front doors. A blast of cold air hit her damp skin and ears and she took a harsh breath. Well, this sucked.

* * *

Lia was practically heaving by the time she swung the discount store's door open. But she forced herself to keep it in when she was met with a purple head and frightened grey eyes. Violette. A soft smile was slapped immediately on to Lia's face as she gave a small wave.

Raising her wrist to check her watch, she gasped. It was six forty five! She was fifteen minutes late. Scanning the area, she sucked in her cheek. The manager, a hyper white-haired girl named Rosayla, wasn't here. If Lia kept a low profile, nobody would notice she came late. But really, as if anyone noticed when she _was_ here.

Violette wavered a little, standing in front of her with a tight-lipped grin. Lia gave a long stare toward her as she slowly stripped off her winter wear, slightly confused and partially scared. "Is there anything wrong?" Lia asked softly as she harshly stuffed her clothes in her locker.

"No," the small girl replied. She looked around aimlessly. "I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. Or Hanukah. Or Kwanza. I-I mean," she stopped, expression bursting with embarrassment. "Happy Holidays, Lia." Violette didn't let the green-eyed girl answer back; she quickly ran out of the area in a snap.

Lia sighed, tucking the brown curl that was flopping uselessly in front of her eyes behind her ear. Gathering all the equipment she needed to complete her stupid jobs, she cursed under her breath. "I hate this job," she whispered, stabbing the box cutter down the center of the cardboard.

Almost immediately, Rosayla popped out of nowhere, her hands on her waist and a knowing grin on her lips. "Is that so, Lia McDonald?" she said, tapping her high-heeled boots on the floor in a scolding manner. "Then I guess I have to take matters into my own hands." Rosayla laughed manically, rubbing her palms together like she was the devil.

"No, I didn't mean it!" Lia insisted, quickly getting up and spluttering fumbled up pleas. Rosayla looked quite shocked before she chuckled, and Lia frowned. "Sorry," Lia apologized sheepishly.

Rosayla shook her head. "You're funny when you're scared," the peroxide-blonde female giggled. Suddenly, she peered at Lia with a distasteful expression, a hand poking her own lip as if she was concentrating. "You're outfit…" Rosayla trailed off, staring at Lia's periwinkle (and hella comfy) sweater and her jeans that were rolled up at the cuffs. "I think you could do way better than that, Lia. You're too cute for this stuff. And you're face looks so soft, like a baby's, but why do you looks so tired? You have dark circles under your eyes, and they don't match the green—"

"Thanks, Rosayla," Lia said quickly, slightly insulted. "But I'm at work, and I don't think I need to worry about my clothes right now." Really, Lia's far too busy to worry about how she looks. Anyway, nobody ever noticed her on her bad days, or even her good days, so it didn't matter if she looks like a seal or if she looked like a motherfucking unicorn.

Rosayla pouted. "Okay. Remember that if you need some help buying clothes, I'm here," she promised, patting Lia's curls. "And finish your work."

Lia nodded, already trying to unbox more items as Rosalya's stare intensified. Then, the manager smiled, spinning around and walking away toward someone that was smearing jam blindly on their clothes.

As Lia stood up, after she successfully ripped the shit out of each and every one of those boxes, she skipped toward the storage closet. It was _those_ kind of closets, the kind that were spacious and mysterious and dark and scary and made her question how she was fucking _alive_ every time she tip-toed out of it. And it smelled like expired milk. Lia's just laying basic facts down.

Also, to add some more disadvantages into the wagon, the closet was right next to the back exit. The back exit as in the entrance to Hell, as somebody (she didn't know who; she was eavesdropping) once called it, although instead of being fiery hot it was extremely cold, since it lead into the parking lot. Lia hasn't really seen anyone go out of that door, but if they did, they were either a fucking maniac or just wanted privacy with the peacefulness of the outside world.

And for some reason, Lia didn't want to rush out mopping the floor and sweeping dust and dirt from other's filthy shoes. She felt adventurous, and even if that sounds so fucking tacky, she wanted to go right through that door and watch snowflakes fall onto her sightline as she freezes up. This whole idea sounded so disgusting and annoying, but Lia was willing to be a dickhead.

Quietly prancing toward the exit, Lia snuck a quick glance behind her. No one was there. Violette certainly wasn't either, but Lia half expected her to be because that girl popped out of nowhere sometimes.

A grin touched her lips. As she wrapped her pale fingers around the doorknob, she closed her eyes, swinging the door ajar and hoping there would be some devils crawling up her pant leg. Then she opened her eyes, waiting to be blown away by the forestry of this deathly Narnia Lia could enter and become a queen.

Lia expected this.

A smoldering groan immediately flew out of her mouth as she glared back at the dark grey eyes that were staring at her like she was stupid. Castiel, with a cigarette and a lighter, growled back a few curses.

"Shit, Clumsy," Castiel said, shaking his head. "Quit stalking, yeah? You're a creep." Of course. He was probably taking advantage of his fifteen minute break by extending it like the freaking rebel he was.

Lia pursed her lips, squinting her eyes. "'m not trying to stalk," she uttered, her words partially muffled because of how she was biting the inside of her cheek until she could taste blood. "I just wanted to see what this place was for."

"Eh," Castiel grunted, sticking the cigar into his mouth and lighting it, throwing in some more curses as he almost burnt the tip of his nail off. "They just toss the trash out this way. You're not supposed to listen to whatever you hear, dumbass." He frowned suddenly, taking the fag out of his lips and staring at it intently. "Fucking hell, what is this shit?" The redhead pushed it back into his mouth again, even if he was complaining like an asshole.

Lia shivered, wavering in her spot by the opening of the exit with a closeted stare. He was quite interesting at night, or at least intoxicated with horrid drugs. "Here," she said with a roll of her eyes, tugging it straight out of his lips and narrowing her eyes to see the name on the paper wrapped around the cigar. "They're Marlboro's. I'll be surprised if you don't get a fully blackened lung by the end of tonight from these."

She didn't know shit about smoking, and she hasn't tried it before due to her stupid asthma, but her father had a few breathers every now and then when he used to live with her and Lia's mother wasn't far behind. Sometimes she'd have to go run an errand for both of them to buy some cigarettes, and her parents strictly told her to back away from the worst ones, ones in which they named until she had it plastered to her skull. Marlboro's were a _no_.

"How d'ya know?" Castiel slurred, who probably chugged down a few before realizing they sucked. "You a smoker?"

Lia spluttered, frowning when he delicately stole the cigar out of her fingertips. "No," she answered , a small grin lightening her face when he began coughing. Apparently, this was some funny shit to her. "I just know this stuff. I'm naturally smart." She rubbed her palms against the fabric of the arms on her sweatshirt, her fingers slowly beginning to freeze up.

"Cocky bitch." Castiel leaned back against the wall of the building, blowing a cloud of smoke. He seemed so interested in the grey that he was puffing out his mouth, like a child and a rainbow. "You're practically Nathaniel with boobs." He froze, as if he was contemplated his words. "Actually, you're exactly like Nathaniel."

"Yeah?" she almost agreed as if it was a compliment. Castiel eyed her with a narrowed gaze before nodding. "Well, I guess that makes you a tomato with legs," Lia continued, laughing giddily as if she said something humorous (although, it was an awfully horrid joke). Castiel stared back, registering her words before a confused expression crossed his features.

He threw his cigar on the ground and stomped on it for a while. "You're not very funny," he replied after a moment. "I think you should stop trying be a comedian 'cos you're never gonna be one. Dreams don't always come true, after all, Clumsy; it'll be better to just fuckin' drop the act because it's not worth it."

It felt like Castiel was talking to himself, not to her, like he was giving himself a prep talk. And he immediately turned towards the green garbage cans as if they were so goddamn interesting all of a sudden when he spoke. There was a stretched, layered silence that hung in the frozen midnight air and Lia momentarily forgot about the cold that was seeping into her skin.

And then Lia remembered she was supposed to be cleaning, and that they were closing early so she had to quickly finish this shit before she got fired. "Anyway, I'm leaving. If you happen to be buzzing all night, remember that you're a fucking idiot and drink some water, 'kay? Because it'll most likely lower your 'highness'." Her last sentence made no sense, whatsoever, but she spun around anyway, not bothering to correct herself.

* * *

Agh, I hate myself. Sorry for posting this super late. I suck. I really, really do.

But anyway, I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. :-)


	8. The Better It Gets

**_Wherein family bonding ensues between an idiotic aunt and her violent niece who is bound on the idea that she's going to throw herself off a cliff from embarrassment. _**

_Who could blame her? _

Giving one smug smirk she scrutinized her now sparkling apartment, Lia crossed her arms over her chest. This was good. No, scratch that; this was _great_. Everything looked cleaner than clean. She dusted everything, washed each dish three times in a row, and she even swept under her refrigerator. The last one didn't seem necessary, but it was for good measure.

Apparently, Lia's father wasn't going to arrive on Christmas Eve, which was today. He was pulled back to finish some work, so he promised to come over Christmas morning. Lia wasn't really complaining, actually. Aunt Meredith decided to come today instead, ironically. Not a bad thing, but Lia didn't know if she could survive a day chasing after her fully-grown aunt that seemed to be interested in every single thing she saw.

And Auntie also made it clear (she repeated it six times in a sentence) that she would step foot into Lia's home at five o'clock sharp, which was now in two hours. All Lia had to do was wait.

* * *

For some reason, waiting wasn't as easy as Lia thought it'd be. About ten minutes into it, she got bored. Expectable, especially since she was seventeen and she had an active brain.

Sitting up from where she was seated on the floor, a reminder popped into Lia's slightly weary brain: food. Did she have enough food to feed an always hungry twenty-six year old woman who could swallow her niece up whole if her needs weren't given? It wouldn't really matter if it was just Lia and her dad. But Auntie would go through drastic things to get a mouthful of something.

Lia immediately ran toward the kitchen, which wasn't really far from where she was previously laying down since it was connected to the living room, opened the cupboards where she hid snacks. She bought three bags of chips for Auntie to nibble on and a jug of vanilla ice cream for her to eat if she craved something sweet. Really, Lia had this all under control right now.

So, since there wasn't anything productive she could do, Lia decided merely that she'd go have a hot shower to relax her tense muscles and make herself look presentable. Seriously, right now, Lia looked like crap.

Shutting the cupboards, Lia stretched, humming a random song under her breath as she made her way to the bathroom. There was a ton of things to do until Auntie arrived.

Again, all she had to do was kill time.

* * *

Lia shuddered when a single drop of cold water slid down her neck. No matter how many times she dried her hair, it still ended up soaking the neck of her shirt.

Her fingers dialled her aunt's phone number rapidly. It was eleven minutes into five o'clock and Aunt Meredith was nowhere in sight. So, Lia assumed that her mother's sister, who seemed to have a soggy brain, was either lost or she had forgotten. The former sounded much more realistic, but the latter sounded like something Auntie would definitely do.

Worrying her lower lip with her teeth, Lia waited for the ecstatic voice of her aunt to blow up her eardrum. But it took a while before Lia heard anything.

Finally, a high-pitched noise, who was obviously Auntie, scared the shit out of her. "Hello," Auntie said, her voice sounding quite rehearsed. Lia smiled widely, her heartbeat quickening faster than the fucking speed of light. Because Lia expected Auntie to be a douchebag and completely swerve her call. Because Lia expected her quirky-as-fuck aunt to be at the other side of town because she mistook Lia's address as something else.

"Hi, Aunt Meredith! I didn't see you here yet, so I was just checking to see if you were okay, you know? Like, I thought you forgot where I lived or something," Lia practically babbled, a child-like grin on her face. "And since you answered, I guess you're okay—"

And then she got interrupted.

"It's Meredith! I'm sorry, but I couldn't answer you're call mainly because I'm always busy, busy, busy! I'll call you back as quick as I can, though! Bye now!" And Auntie's voice was gone.

Lia smacked her hand on to her face. Voicemail. Really, either her aunt got swallowed by a toy robot at her company or she was just plain _gone_. Lia could kiss the wish of not being alone for Christmas Eve good-fucking-_bye_.

Groaning, Lia shamefully walked back to her couch with a dipped head and an upset frown that could stretch miles. Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it? Auntie probably didn't give a shit. It's cool.

Coincidentally, a rhythmic knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Groggily, Lia stood, walking towards the door and readying herself so she could give the lunatic at the other end of the door a piece of her fucking mind.

Swinging the wooden door open while murmuring curses, Lia stepped back once she saw who was creating such a cacophony. Of course, Lia felt a wave of happiness wash over her and jumped at the pink haired woman. "Auntie!"

Aunt Meredith grinned. "Hey, sugarplum! Sorry for coming late, I didn't know you lived beside KFC," she said, stepping inside and slipping off her jacket. "I was going to bring you some, but I got hungry and ate the rest. Again, I apologise." Auntie rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she peered around the vast living room. "Wow, you really cleaned up! Nice place you got here."

Lia bit the inside of her cheek. "Yeah," she muttered. That wasn't her plan. Auntie was supposed to feel sorry for her and invite her to live back in her posh little purple house and be in harmony, but then Lia got carried away and washed this dump up until it looked 'pretty'. Fuck her and her cleanliness.

Anyway, Lia still wondered how she got away with living on her own. As far as she knew, Auntie didn't let the government know that she was legally independent when Lia moved out, and she wasn't even eighteen yet. As Lia said before, Auntie got away with _everything_.

Taking Aunt Meredith's coat, Lia turned her head to see that the woman was already helping herself to a bag of chips and was pressing the remote's buttons wildly. Lia worried her lip between her teeth, frowning. She had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

* * *

"How's school?" Auntie mumbled as she chewed on the last chip. When she thought Lia wasn't looking, and Lia certainly was, she wiped her fingers on the carpet that Lia previously scrubbed so hard her fingers were still red.

Lia shrugged, scooping ice cream into a bowl. "It's alright. Nothing too exciting," she replied. Passing the bowl to her aunt, Lia settled down next to her. "How's the job?"

"Eh." Auntie pushed away some flying hairs away from her face, trapping them behind her ears. "Nice. Fun. Sometimes it's hard." Auntie slurped the last bits of ice cream in her bowl, sliding it toward the green-eyed girl. "You know, being the manager and all." She winked and Lia rolled her eyes, snorting.

They sat in silence, listening to the humming refrigerator and the TV's barely audible commercial break before Auntie sighed loudly. "I'm bored," the woman whined, sighing again for good measure. "Let's go do something fun!"

Lia could hardly answer, watching Auntie jump and swing her coat around her shoulders. "Please, Lianne! We'll come back as soon as possible. I want to walk around town and eat something exotic, like Italian pizza!" Auntie cried out.

Whatever. Lia's mom always said she needed to do something active and be social. Why not do it with Auntie?

* * *

To make a long story short, Auntie was officially the craziest, most embarrassing person _ever_.

Auntie decided and persisted that she didn't want to take her car because it used too much gas, which didn't make any sense since she drove to Lia's apartment with it, and then said she wanted to 'explore the wide, secret areas of Sweet Amoris that she hasn't discovered yet'. Lia couldn't understand what the hell she meant by that, but didn't bother to ask and continued to try and keep up with the woman.

About fifteen minutes later, Auntie got hungry. Which meant that Lia had to feed the lady _something _or she wouldn't be able to see her father the next day, and that was the only thing she was looking forward to this Christmas.

Luckily, they were close to a little fast food joint that Lia and Castiel went to sometime before. Of course, Lia didn't have the brains to step back and wonder if going into there would be a good idea, and literally shoved her twenty-six year old aunt inside.

"Okay," Lia breathed, her chest heaving. "Go order something, please, Auntie. Eat whatever you want." It didn't really occur to Lia at that moment that her aunt was relying on her seventeen year old _niece_ to buy food for her, so Lia let it slide. Until she heard Aunt Meredith saying, "Lia, honey, are these chicken nuggets to expensive and out of your budget?"

So then Lia thought, fuck it, whatever. Let Auntie spend all her money until she was a broke bitch again. Anyway, Lia received her check yesterday, which was good, although it wasn't a lot of money. She'll just have to make up for it then, work some extra shifts.

Sighing, Lia set her jacket down on one of the seats. Auntie wanted a burger, fries, a drink, and five-piece chicken nuggets, and all that totaled up to a big whopping 10.95 alone. Which meant that if Lia wanted to buy groceries next week, she'll have to keep her chill and not get anything herself. Except Lia was super hungry.

And that was how Lia spent another eleven dollars, buying herself some lunch, too. With a broken sigh, she handed her money to the cashier woman and shakily (and carefully, don't forget that) picked up her and Auntie's food toward the table. She's done this before. She can do this.

But then, Lia, who was concentrating on counting each sesame seed on her burger, crashed into something, her food flying over and spilling across dirty, snow-stained linoleum.

Looking up, she was met with a charming practised smile and too-blonde hair. "Lia! I'm so, sorry for bumping into you – do you need some help cleaning up?" Candy said, her beam faltering. "Let me pick—"

When Candy stopped talking, Lia furrowed her eyebrows, looking at what made the other girl pause. Sure enough, Auntie was kneeling on the floor, one fry in her mouth as she dusted off her burger.

"For God's sake, Auntie," Lia huffed under her breath, her cheeks burning. How embarrassing. The waiters were watching, one of them laughing so hard that they sounded like they were choking. Candy was giggling, too, a little. It almost sounded like a chirp. It was quite disgusting.

And there was also another laugh, one Lia's heard in her nightmares that had her falling on her face while she was having a meeting with the president (that dream didn't make a whole lot of sense, but sometimes Lia woke up dripping in sweat and swears slipping off the tip of her tongue).

Lia tilted her head, just enough so that she could see who the hell was making that sound and to ask them to stop immediately or else there would be consequences. Again, wow, great, it was Castiel. Could this day get any worse?

Castiel sauntered over, his smirk so wide it could split his face in half, then wrapped his arm around Candy's shoulders. It was most likely to get Lia to say something, but she knew better. Instead, she grinned. "So, Castiel, have you found yourself something to ruin?"

Weak as hell, but Lia didn't have anything other to say. And it was enough to make Castiel knit his eyebrows together in annoyance, so. "Jealous?"

Candy grinned, batting her eyelashes. What a fucking bitch.

"Anyway," Castiel interrupted. "There's a party at my place on New Years'. Don't bother to ask where it is, or something, since your friends are coming to and have the address. Ask them." And then he spun him and Candy the other way, whispering in her ear.

Parties were never Lia's thing. Really, they weren't, since she never got invited to any besides Armin's birthday parties which were much of a party, especially since all they do there were play video games and eat chips. And this was an actual party too – the ones with drinks and people and illegal substances that Lia is going try to stay away from. Still, she got invited, and she was going to drag her ass there no matter what the hell happened.

Turning around, Lia's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw that all the food that fell was gone. And nobody came to clean it up, so—

"Auntie!" Lia shouted, causing all the food in the middle-aged woman's mouth to spill. "Don't – c'mon, we're going home. You've had enough."

* * *

It's funny, because Lia's dad ended up coming anyway.

Maybe it was some kind of trick so he could surprise her, but it failed when Lia saw him sitting in front of her apartment door, a box with a ribbon on top in his hands and a sheepish look on his face. Lia jump at him anyway, murmuring "Oh my god, Oh my God, _Dad_," over and over until Auntie pulled her hair a little bit. (Which was weird, but Lia took it as nothing. She suspected Auntie was either jealous or liked her hair very much.)

"Hey, honey!" her dad exclaimed, hugging her one last time before he got up. "Apparently, I got the day off!"

Lia snorted.

Auntie squirmed in the background. "Lia, open the door. Please. I don't feel comfortable in tight places," she mumbled. It was weird because the hallway was so spacious, it was as big as her living room.

Lia did as she was told anyway, shrugging. Auntie pushed pass them both, slipping off her slushy shoes and slinking into the kitchen. They followed, though, because they were both quite hungry. The only thing Lia had left after all the food dropped was her drink, which wasn't much of a food.

Lia's father stood in the middle of the room, eyebrow arched and his mouth in a straight line. "Lia. What a…nice place you've got here, ha." He didn't really mean that, Lia could tell. Which was very good.

"I found it for her and paid off half of the rent, water, and heating bill," Auntie chirped, stepping beside Lia's father to gesture around. "I know it looks good. Because I found it."

Lia's dad held a small smile, then made his face serious. "And I paid the other half of the bill."

Auntie stared at him once before she spun around, practically growling, her hair flying in his face sharply. Lia's was not sure on how she was going to survive a few more days with this shit.

* * *

The next day, while Lia's dad was asleep and she and Aunt Meredith were cruising on the sofa and channel surfing through the T.V, Auntie got an idea. Or at least Lia think she did, judging on how suddenly, while they were watching The Shopping Channel (which was quite interesting, and Lia wondered if she'll get one of those lavish purses or shirts. She probably won't), Auntie started laughing. It was the nastiest laugh Lia ever heard, making her twist from her spot on the left side of the sofa to lift a brow.

Except Auntie wouldn't stop. Lia decided to put her foot down when Auntie fell off the chair and started spitting out her milk.

"Are you alright, Auntie? Everything okay?" Lia asked. Nothing was okay, actually, seeing that her aunt was now literally rolling on the floor with giggles that were getting worse by the minute. Lia was getting mad, seriously, because Auntie was laughing (?) so hard she couldn't hear over the lady talking on the T.V. Apart of her wanted to throw a pillow at her and another part wanted to suffocate her with it.

But everyone knows that suffocating your Aunt isn't nice, so Lia won't do it.

"Auntie, what's going on?" Lia snapped. "Stop laughing or I'll spill your cereal out the window."

Aunt Meredith did stop, actually. Not before she laughed once more. She sat up and sighed, stretching like nothing even happened and it made Lia so confused she had to do a double take.

"Lia," Auntie yawned, blinking. "I'm laughing 'cos I think you forgot its Christmas!"

"How could I forget its Christmas?" Lia wondered dumbly. Lia's wasn't that stupid, actually; sure, she's forgotten many important things, but it's not like she's going to forget something that was all around her. The Shopping Channel lady was repeating the words "It's Christmas!" every twenty five seconds, too, so maybe Auntie should get her head out of her ass. "I'm just waiting for dad to wake up."

(Why was Lia so rude?)

Auntie blinked again, a deep crease forming between her carefully crafted eyebrows. "Okay. Well, he's already awake. He's behind you, by the way." And she huffed and stormed off into the bathroom, the lock clicking loudly.

Silence followed and then the bathroom sink water turned on. Almost instantly, everything began to flow smoothly again; the tense air shattered and Lia began to smile, completely forgetting that her aunt was probably having a fit.

"Anyway," she hummed, grabbing her dad's hand quickly and tugging him toward the little Christmas tree in the middle of the room. "I got you a present!"

Sticking her tongue out, she carefully unwrapped the gift she and Auntie spent hours decorating last night. And she also spent more money than necessary on this item, too, so she was crossing his fingers and toes that he'd like the gift.

"Hey, it's my present, Lia," her dad scolded playfully when she was struggling on ripping the paper apart. "Let me do it." He pulled the paper once and it was off, making them both snicker. He then carefully took out the little box and opened it.

Lia stared. She couldn't help it. It would be utter shit if something went wrong. "So? Y'like it?"

Lia's father slowly took out the wrist-watch, his eyes glistening like they were smiling. It made Lia's heart jump, like she was on a rollercoaster, because she hasn't seen someone happy like that in a long time.

He thumbed over the black leather around the clock with rhythm that she followed with her eyes. "Lia. This is wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you."

His voice was so small, like if raised it to a higher octave everything would have collapsed. Lia smiled back, just as big, just as wide, hugging him tightly.

Because she had never felt so proud of.

* * *

Christmas nights were black - coffee without milk black, eight-ball black. It caught her attention right before bed, when her mouth tasted like mint toothpaste and leftover ice tea. The only light source were the scattered stars that looked like spilled salt over a dark surface and she wanted to touch them, one by one until she lost count.

Lia hesitated, wondering if she should ask Auntie if she wanted to check it out too. She was being quite distant today, so distant that Lia was missing her even when Auntie was right beside her. All she did was hand over Lia's gift – peanut brittle cookies – and sit on the couch, out of reach.

Lia's father had already drifted into one of his deep dream-filled sleeps. He was staying until December 29th, just like Auntie. Apparently, he still had jetlag.

So she just sat there - hair tied in a sloppy bun - feeling more alive than she ever did. Like she wasn't alone, even if it was only her in her room. Like that if she could reach out, she could trace everything and everyone all at once. Like the whole world was in the palm of her hands.

Her eyes have gotten brighter, too, the eye bags she used to have slapped off her face and her cheeks with more color than before.

She sighed, dropping on her back on her bed and curling into her pillow. What a fucking _magnificent_ day. She hasn't even stepped out her apartment, but Lia felt like she has walked around the world by foot – tired but still up to continue.

Maybe this is what the lucky ones feel.

* * *

A/N: it took me three months to write a single chapter...how disgusting.

anyway, I hope you enjoy this tiny thing. i'll update much more sooner, promise. love y'all.


	9. Keep the Car Running

_**New Years' Eve.**_

_Maybe Lia should double-check her life choices. _

**8:49 a.m. **

Lia woke up with a start.

That's how she wakes up every day, actually, but today it was in the literal sense. One that made her almost smash her skull against the headboard of her bed.

Auntie has been getting out of her shell more often ever since her sudden outburst on Christmas. It took her at least a day, but that didn't matter. She's been cleaning up (randomly), making meals (randomly), and offering to wash the dishes (she's only asked that once). Still – now Aunt Meredith's back to normal.

Normal, as in she belts out into song mode every second, making Lia want to cry sometimes (but that was because Auntie was getting louder, and louder, and louder each time she sang, hurting Lia's sensitive little ears and causing Lia's dad to scream at her and politely ask her to get the fuck out of their apartment _now_.)

(Auntie's every response was another song.)

But Lia wasn't mad or anything, because Auntie was Auntie – what could you expect? She was a woman of many masks. Also a woman with killer Celine Dione impersonation skills.

The thing was, sometimes Auntie didn't know when to back the hell off or when she was being too much. For example:

Lia was sleeping - peacefully and quietly; dreaming about the sun and the moon and the universe as a whole. Of the endless sky and the surge of stars.

It's pretty, really, when you think about it: how it naturally lights up the raven-colored darkness, how it guides people around. It's nice. Lia wants it all – the blue evenings, the black nights, and the pink sunrises.

But then – and she just knew it was coming; the good never lasts for her – a bashing cacophony tore her out of her slumber, and right when she opened her eyes, the striking sun exploded in her vision, making her partially blind for a few seconds.

"Rise and shine, Lianne! We're gonna be active today, so get up and wash yourself and do something with your hair, please – it really doesn't look good – then come eat the breakfast I made!" Auntie basically roared, her pearly white teeth making Lia's vision stutter again. Her smile was so, so big. Lia had the decency not to slap it right off her make-up filled face.

So then, Lia gave a whimper, laying back down and throwing the duvet back on her head and crawled deeper inside of it to absorb the heat.

In conclusion, Lia McDonald's life never began with a brush of a warm breeze like most; it began with a _BANG _that announced the arrival of something odd. And Lia wouldn't have had it any other way.

* * *

**6:32 p.m.**

"And then I said, 'You should probably eat your vegetables.' He didn't see it coming!" Auntie was howling, a single tear streaming down her face. "I was warning him for the future. Because if he doesn't eat his vegetables, he'll end up like one of those weaklings we see on T.V every day. God bless."

Lia's father looked disturbed, taking a bite of his forkful of pasta. "Interesting, Meredith. It almost sounds unreal."

"Why wouldn't it be real? Shut up, Hank. Buzzkill," Auntie muttered, narrowing her eyes. "Some people are humorless," she added, nudging Lia and 'subtly' pointing at Lia's dad.

Lia cleared her throat. "Auntie? Can you take me to a friend's house at eight o'clock or something? Just this once, I promise. I won't ask again."

She had canceled work just for this one event. If she wanted to be truthful, Lia had been thinking about Castiel's party for days. She already picked out what she was going to wear, which was obviously going to be judged by Alexy anyway, and she'd been planning on what she was going to avoid. Like pretzels. And people.

But what Lia's figured out (by watching a couple of shows to understand what the hell was going to happen there) was that no matter what occurred, she was going to end up being surrounded by teenagers. And it'll clash with her introvert personality.

She's been thinking about dropping out, saying "You are all disgusting dickheads, goodbye" or something dramatic, but this was a bit important. Being quiet and always at home wasn't great at all. It might be a big step into her life. Or whatever.

"But its New Years' Eve, Lia," Auntie whined, scrunching her nose in distaste. "You're supposed to spend time with me!" She pouted, tilting her head and batting her too-long eyelashes.

Lia's dad scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Go anywhere you want, sugarplum. Just don't get dragged by a couple of crazy kids, 'kay? And don't do anything stupid. Pinky here will drive you."

"Don't call me Pinky when you look like the splitting image of the giraffe in those Madagascar movies, Hank." Auntie looked so angry, her face was becoming the same color as her hair. Then she turned to Lia, huffing like a child. "Fine. Fine, I'll take you, Lia. I'm having an early nap." As she said this, she picked up her suddenly empty plate and strutted off, whipping her hair purposely (and violently) as she sashayed out of view.

"Anyway." Lia's dad got up as well, stretching as he picked up the remaining leftovers on the table aside from Lia's full plate of pasta. "I'm gonna hit the sheets, too. Have fun, kid. Happy New Year, too, when it's twelve o'clock or something. Love you," he said, pressing a kiss on to Lia's cheek and then he was gone.

Lia sighed, spinning her fork until it was full of saucy noodles. She'll have to pray for success.

* * *

**8:30 p.m.**

Armin gave her the address to Castiel's house on the phone the other day, but not before he whined about how Alexy had been forcing him to wear hideous, funky outfits that were so terrible, the only way to get Alexy to stop was to cry loudly in the middle of the night until their entire family woke up.

Lia tried not to laugh – because imagining Armin cry was such a joke – but instead, she wished him luck and said words he wanted to hear, like "I'm so sorry," and "that must suck."

And now, as she brushed her teeth so hard she could taste the metallic flavour of blood in her mouth, she tried to ignore the twisting feeling deep inside her. It felt like something was going to go wrong, but it was covered with a layer with unwavering excitement. This could be good, if only she stopped thinking so darkly.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Lia sighed, licking over her aching teeth with her tongue. She breathed harshly, trotting out of the bathroom and batting her hair out of her eyes.

Auntie was standing by the door, looking tired and not-so-Auntie. Her eyes too dull and her perfect magenta locks were matted on her forehead like she hadn't even tried to wash up. It made Lia step back a little, to examine this _new_ person in her home. All Aunt Meredith did was blink.

"Hey. You ready?" the woman asked – and even her voice sounded fucked up. Lia scrunched her eyebrows together and nodded. Aunt Meredith slipped on a pair of pink fluffy slippers and walked right out of the door.

Everything that just happened took a long time to register through Lia's head, and when it did, she felt like she's been slapped right across the face. Was Auntie sick? Tired? _Homesick_? Did she eat something disgusting or with chemicals that seeped into her brain and took over her body? Lia gasped, tugging on her leather boots and following her aunt.

Maybe Auntie was drunk. Her movements couldn't prove Lia's assumption, but the way she looked could. Auntie's usual bright face was now empty and hollow, her body bowed at the waist throughout their short walk to the car. She was definitely sick. Or something.

Once they were comfortably seated in Auntie's pink getaway car, Lia tugged on her seat belt and stared blatantly at her aunt, who was now paying attention to her nails, occasionally sniffing.

"Auntie?"

Said woman jumped at the mention of her name, muttering something under her breath. Finally, she turned, face-to-face with her niece.

"Are you okay?" Lia asked, tilting her head and felt her heart drop out of her chest when Auntie's face suddenly crumpled. "What happened? Are you hurt? Sick? Do you need—"

"Your dad is mean, Lia!"

Lia did a double-take, pulling a face and muttering curses. What the hell? Lia actually thought she was in need of medical attention, and all Auntie wanted was to gossip shit about her brother-in-law? Lia sighed.

"God, Auntie—"

Aunt Meredith cut her off. "I'm serious! He's always making fun of me and I never do anything! Plus, he's trying to make me do things I don't want to do and that's not fair." Auntie looked like a child, like she was trying to argue her parent into buying her the Barbie doll she wanted.

Lia actually felt like she needed to smack some sense into Auntie, but instead, she smiled. "It's okay, Auntie. My dad can be a big loser, I know. But don't let him get to you, 'kay?" She waited until Auntie nodded and then continued. "Because you're_ so_ much better than him."

Auntie's face suddenly lit up like a jack-o-lantern, her teeth so white that Lia could see them even in the dark when she smiled. "Thanks, Lia. You're right, you're dad's a big oaf and his head makes him look like Doctor Phil. Get it? Because it's heart shaped!" her booming laughter made Lia jump.

And then Auntie suddenly pulled the ignition and that was how Lia almost died.

* * *

**8:55 p.m. **

By the time Lia arrived, she was already smacked with the stench of alcohol and underage smoking. And sweat. Yup, can't forget that.

Apparently, Castiel didn't even live that far away. Just about ten minutes while driving. That was good, because Lia didn't want to stay in a car with Auntie anymore. It was too much to look at, anyway.

As Lia pushed past crowds of people – some attempting to play beer pong but failing miserably at it – she ignored the fast beating of her heart. God, there were pretzels _everywhere_. On the floor, on tables, being crunched by disgusting monsters and stepped on by other monsters. Pretzels. Everywhere.

Lia winced, then winced again when she was pushed so hard she almost lost balance. Great.

Finally, she located Armin's head of dark hair and lanky, long figure. A hesitant smile was immediately pressed on to her face, and she shoved her way over to him, Alexy, and Kentin. This was good. At least she wasn't alone, right?

"Hey!" she exclaimed, placing herself comfortably on a chair beside the three boys. They looked very sober, which was also another thumbs up. Lia did not want to deal with more drunk assholes.

Kentin was nibbling on his thumb, shaking a little less than Auntie was. Lia frowned, raising an eyebrow. He turned to her, then jumped when he noticed she was staring back at him. "Hi."

Alexy sighed, shaking his head. "He thinks someone's stalking him." The blue-haired boy had a very endearing grin on his face, like he knew Kentin was stupid, but very cutely stupid. It made Lia smile too.

"I don't _think_, I _know_!" Kentin shouted, whimpering slightly. He stuck his hand through his hair. "And it's all Armin's fault because he wrote my phone number with a permanent marker in really, really big writing all over Castiel's walls! And I keep getting texts from someone I don't even have listed in my contacts." His green eyes suddenly widened. "What if they find me?"

Armin barked a roar of loud, booming laughter, doubling over and clapping his hands. "Best thing ever! God, Kentin. Calm down. They can't do that."

Lia rolled her eyes, ignoring Armin's choking noises. "Did you text back?"

"Yeah. I told them to stop or I'll, you know. Call the police." Kentin was fidgeting in his spot, sipping something (probably fizzy orange juice – Kentin wasn't the type to go against rules) in a red Solo cup. Although he was trying his best (or at least Lia thought he was) to look perfectly normal, his eyes kept flickering to his cell phone, which was placed next to his left leg and continuing to buzz with new texts. "Or my dad."

Armin slipped off of his chair, his laughter not even subsiding a bit.

Alexy patted Kentin's arm soothingly. "It's okay, Kenny. They won't do anything to you, I promise." Alexy was looking positively hyper, cheeks an abnormal pink color and violet eyes hazy.

"But what if they _do_ come?" Kentin insisted. "Stop laughing, Armin!" he snapped suddenly, which did not help. "It's not funny. I could be getting stalked. My life is at risk!"

Armin just waved a hand and braced himself from his spot on the floor.

"They probably won't," Lia demurred, because Kentin looked beyond worried, and it might get Armin to stop laughing. It didn't, though, but she shrugged anyway, continued. "They don't even know what you look like."

Alexy nodded. "Yeah, Ken. So stop worrying and do something fun with me. Wanna dance? Eat? Sing some karaoke? What do you want to do?" Alexy was babbling, his words slurring together and bleeding into each other. Lia had to wait a few seconds until she understood what he said.

"I'm leaving." Lia scooted backwards until her wooden chair was against the wall, which was probably three feet away, and stretched. "Going to come back, though. I'm a little hungry. Do you guys want anything?"

Armin sat up, running a hand through his flaky, unruly hair. "Get me some of the shiny stuff this wonderful, strong camo-wearing boy is drinking," he said, point at Kentin and laughing once more before dropping on to the wooden floorboards and looking very much dead.

"It's _sparkling cider_, Armin," Kentin retorted, a frown pulling at his lips. He turned back to Lia, shaking his head. "It's beside the back door in a glass bowl."

Lia nodded, smiling widely and standing up. All she had to do was avoid disgusting, sweaty drunk people and the smell of pretzels. Easy.

* * *

**9:26 p.m. **

It turns out that it wasn't easy at all.

First of all, there were people _everywhere_. Some were locked in closets that were also _everywhere_,shouting and crying for help. Lia, of course, was too afraid to open the closets because she could get hurt. Yes, it was possible to be that selfish.

A part of her considered opening at least one, but Lia decided to stay in her own lane. Chances are those scary, helpless people were just screaming their lungs off for the fun of it. And yes, it is possible to be that obnoxious.

Second of all, there was a cloud of smoke hanging in the air from a group in the far left corner – that Lia was sure Castiel was a part of – chain-smoking and shotgunning. Lia couldn't see a thing, let alone fucking _breathe_, and she had to take a second every few minutes to rub her eyes from the stinging sensation.

Okay, there was no third of all, only because the back door was very close to where she and the boys were sitting at, which also meant that the glass bowl of sparkling (alcoholic?) cider was there too. As Lia caught sight of the door, she ran, pushing over nasty couples that were kissing horrendously and feeling each other like they had no self-control, and as childish as it made her seem, it made her sick. It's like touching something slick and oily and unknown.

Lia sighed once she successfully made it to the snack table (with the glass bowl – can't forget that, can you?). Grabbing two cups, Lia picked up the big wooden spoon and poured her and Armin some, concentrating on not letting it spill. Finally, once the cups were filled, Lia set them down, smiling at her work. Good.

She picked up her cup and sipped it, spinning around to watch the crowds of people around the house and looking for people she recognized. Oddly, Nathaniel was here. Lia frowned. Castiel didn't seemed to be the type that invited people he really, truly disliked, but then again, it seemed like every student from Sweet Amoris was here. Actually, Lia was sure everybody from school was here.

All of a sudden, everything seemed too stuffy, like even if she tried, she wouldn't breathe in correctly. Lia set down her cup and made a break for the back door, eyes wide as she frantically waited for the air to hit her skin and clean, clear oxygen to breathe in.

Fortunately, it only took a few minutes to get to the door, and Lia sucked in a long breath as she stepped outside, leaning against the cold stone wall behind her.

Turning her head, she discovered that Castiel was standing right there, about to interrupt the fresh air with another cigar. She rolled her eyes. "Can you quit it? Your house is already filled with smoke."

Castiel seemed startled at hearing another voice, stepping back and almost dropping his lighter. He swore colorfully before looking at her. "Shit. Fucking stalker," he said, shaking his head. Once his fingers were steadier, he lit it and put it in his mouth, standing next to her with a look of content on his face.

"So," Lia begins, wanting to break the thick atmosphere that wasn't just filled with tension and discomfort, but smoke, too. She rolled her sweaty neck on the cool stone wall. "So. Nice party."

Castiel makes an indifferent noise, shrugging. "Thanks?"

"Where's Candy?" Lia didn't even want to say those words, but they just found a way out of her mouth without her permission. She shut her eyes, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

The red-head paused, cigarette hanging out of his mouth awkwardly, his eyes wide. "I don't know. She was supposed to be with me, but." He stopped. "I don't know."

Lia hummed. Maybe she was talking up Armin. Or maybe Kentin. She was probably with Nathaniel. "Okay."

"Why aren't you inside with video-game boy?" Castiel asked.

A genuine, throaty laugh found its way out of her mouth. Castiel was always assuming she spent about ninety-nine percent of her free-time with Armin, which was partially a lie. She, unfortunately, had other things to do. "I wanted to get something to drink for the both of us but it's too steamy inside. And crowded."

Castiel shook his head, a small smirk on his face. "Of course you were."

A comfortable silence followed shortly after Castiel's words, and Lia sighed, breathing in the smell of minty cold and – just something _new_. It made her eyes flutter shut, thinking about what was yet to come. It's nice.

Suddenly, there's a big, warm hand on her head, ruffling her hair, and Lia would tell Castiel fuck off if it wasn't so damn comforting. She leant into his touch, her smiling widening.

"You know," she began, letting out another long sigh. "It's not that bad."

Lia didn't even know what she was talking about, let alone Castiel, but he made still a noise of agreement. They stand like that until they both heard loud cheering, so deafening that Lia jumped and Castiel retreated his hand back like he got burnt.

_Right_, Lia thought awkwardly, wavering in her spot. Castiel didn't even seem bothered; he continued smoking in peace, puffing out shapes that blended into the night as they disappeared. _I'll just go then_. It seemed slightly weird, though, because she felt some kind of emptiness at the top of her head where Castiel fingers used to be and she felt a little mad. Not mad at Castiel for once, but at _herself_. She wanted to travel back in time to a minute ago, when Lia was thinking and Castiel was_ there_ – not talking, not moving – just there.

Lia stomped away into the beyond warm house, a dark cloud hovering above her mop of now messy curls.

* * *

**9:52 p.m. **

Armin was holding his ping pong ball with squinted eyes, focused on the final red Solo cup at the end of the wooden table. He looked up for just a moment and –

"Miss," Alexy said with a smile, and Lia snorted next to him. "Miss, miss, miss."

Candy flapped her hands in Alexy's direction and started jogging in place for no reason at all. She massaged Armin's shoulders. "C'mon, I bet Alexy you'd win this. You can do it! You _are_ the contender!"

"He'll have less of a chance to miss if you aren't jostling him," Kentin grumbled, "you're not even playing, Candy, he's _my_ partner."

"No, please," Lia snickered. "By all means, continue to distract him. I can't wait to win!" She laughed when Armin rolled his eyes, groaning.

"Can't distract me," Armin retorted. "I can win this with one eye open, Lia. I am nondistractable."

Nathaniel, who was standing on Lia's farther left, made a noise of annoyance. "Not a word."

"Fine. Indistractable."

"Still not a word," Alexy added, blinking innocently a million times when Armin shot him a dark glare.

Armin sighed, dropping his arms. With the slightest slur, he said, "I've had a lot of things to drink in a short span of time. Give me a break. I think I can make up a word or two sometimes."

"Don't listen to them, Armin," Candy said. "Listen to me. Listen to my voice."

Kentin taps the table with his index finger impatiently. "Are you trying to talk him out of a coma?" he said, and Armin snorted so loud that Lia assumed he pulled something. "Anyway. Candy, stop. As I said, _I'm_ his partner."

Candy reached out, twisting Kentin's nipple before he could block. "I don't know when you started getting so quippy, but I'm not here for it."

Kim, who was knocking shoulders playfully with Violette beside the red cup, let out a big laugh, shaking her head. "He probably got it from you, Candace, you know, since you two used to be _so_ close and all. You rubbed off on him over time." She ducked when Candy threw a random plastic fork at her.

"The past is in the past, Kim." Kentin had a very prominent blush high on his cheeks, the tips of his ears redder than Lia thought was possible. They could be mistaken for really big jalapenos.

Candy gasped in faux horror/anger. "Irrelevant!" She turned to Armin. "If you win, I'll blow you under the table!"

Lia snickered once again. "Dirty tactics! Dirty, dirty, _dirty_ tactics." Armin was laughing, too, but he was also blushing. It made Lia a little jealous, but she wasn't surprised. Armin and Candy seemed closer than Lia thought, and it – it looked _real_.

Because if Lia looks closer, at their secret smiles and tentative touches, Lia could tell. Yeah, Armin liked her. Candy seemed to like him back, and that was the thing that made Lia sick to her stomach, and she doesn't even know why.

So she smiled when Armin nodded at her from afar, making sure she was all good. He smiled just as wide and threw the ping pong ball – and, miraculously, it went in the cup.

* * *

**11:23 p.m. **

Time went by quickly, and Lia found herself collapsed on one of the couches, trying to get some shut eye before the New Year began. To be honest, Lia had never stayed up as late as this. She'd go to bed by 10:30, because her weary little brain could never handle that much television. Sleep was an important part of Lia's life.

But it was quite hard to fall asleep when (perhaps) fifty-nine people were yelling and crying and singing around her. She declared herself tired right when she saw Armin and Candy escape upstairs hand-in-hand, and seriously, Lia just wanted to go home. She just didn't want to tell anyone because a) who would she tell besides her four friends who have disappeared and b) she didn't want to be a wimp.

And anyway, most people were shoving each other to look out the window or go outside to see the small fireworks that were being tested. They were bright and loud, as Lia could tell, with colors that bleed into each other like mixed paint. It was beautiful.

Except Lia was never going to see them if she wanted to go to sleep badly.

So Lia forced herself to sit up, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She huffed. This wasn't easy. Of course it wasn't – Lia was turning eighteen soon and she still had troubles sleeping over her bed time restriction. Disappointing, she knows.

Alexy was lying on Kentin on the other couch next to her, forcing Kentin to tousle his hair. Alexy was the only reason Kentin was still around, maybe, because wouldn't move a centimetre away from Alexy's side – which, if she wanted to be honest, was cute. She groaned from her spot for attention-needing purposes and watch their heads snap toward her.

"I feel like I'm gonna puke," she said. When Alexy and Kentin both started to slowly smile, she glared. "What?"

Alexy laughed first, followed shortly after by Kentin. "I knew it. You can't handle one party!"

"Yes I can!" she bit back defensively. Alexy raised a brow and Kentin shook his head. "Guys. I can, really. I'm just a little worn out. Nothing too big." She twisted her mouth into something that hopefully resembled a smile.

Kentin did one of his looks that made her squirm in his seat, like he knew something she didn't. "Okay. Whatever you say." He leant back in his seat, shutting his eyes and continued to ruffle Alexy's hair.

Lia got up in an act of fury and walked away, pushing past people dancing to a remixed version of a familiar song, an angry frown poking at her lips. She can handle this. Alexy and Kentin don't know what they're talking about.

Lia realized shortly after her physical outburst that she didn't even know where she was going, and she stopped mid-step to think over what she was going to do. Everyone – four people – she liked enough were all occupied; hidden in the mass of dripping-in-sweat students with too bright eyes and too slack smiles. She groaned in frustration.

Standing on her tippy-toes to see above roaming teenagers, she squinted, trying to locate God-knows-what. She huffed again and carried on, pacing and pacing until she reached the back door again. She paused, shutting her eyes and feeling the cold air that streamed out of the door. It was freezing, but Lia was wearing a thick, long shirt that stopped at her knees that could keep her warm. Finally, she turned around, only to bump into Castiel.

Castiel looked as immaculate as he did earlier – as nonchalant as he ever did – his features a bit more distinct under the blue moonlight. Lia wanted to scream, to tell him to go away, because Lia felt looser than she ever did, and she didn't want to say anything she would regret. So she smiled, attempting to side-step him, but he stopped her there.

"Hey."

"Hi." Lia felt like vomiting all over his boots.

And that was that.

* * *

**11:53 p.m.**

They ended up sneaking upstairs – purposely ignoring the room that Armin and Candy supposedly went in – for Castiel to show Lia the rooftop. The entire floor was black marble, shiny and completely ridden of any snow, and Lia tried not to gasp but she definitely stared. It looked cleaner than clean; untouched and sharp, with sliver railings that held it all together.

Lia was the first to move. She ran, actually, her excitement bubbling inside of her, almost. All she did was watch, her fingers grazing over the railing and tipping her head back to look at the stars, each and everyone one of them, and Lia wished Armin was here. He might've acted like it wasn't a big deal, or something, but she knew him. This was beautiful.

She must have said it aloud because Castiel laughed. "It's the only reason why my parents bought the place was because of this." He gestured to the view, an embarrassed smile on his lips. "Nice, isn't it?"

Lia breathed out an answer, a mumbled 'Yeah' that was stolen into the biting cold air. She shoved her fingers into the pocket of her shirt, inhaling pine trees and short winters and new beginnings and Lia felt like she was floating, all the way up until she can't breathe anymore. She sighed, the movement so dizzying she shifted in her spot.

"Five minutes until we're into the New Year," Castiel interrupted, and Lia had never enjoyed Castiel's presence as much as she is now. Hell, if she wasn't drunk, she would have pushed him off of the rooftop by now for disturbing her peace.

She can hear the loud eagerness downstairs, the chattering of the guests while they count of every minute that goes by. Lia smiled then, wider then she did all night – because it reminded her of Saturday nights with her family in the tiny apartment above a sweet little bakery, having playful banter and just being there_ together_; it made her heart twist hopelessly in her chest.

Time ticked down fast – and suddenly there was just a minute left until twelve a.m. Castiel came closer, step by step, until suddenly he was right beside her, listening to the cacophony below them and waiting. She looked at him once from the corner of her eye – at his pin-straight red hair; his dark eyes – and bit her lip. What to say?

Now, they're counting off seconds rapidly. Fifty seconds became forty seconds became thirty, and Lia found herself counting along out loud. Twenty. She turned to Castiel.

"You think things are gonna change?" she asked, wind blowing through her hair.

Castiel laughed again, sudden and slightly hysterical. He covered his face with his hand, and if she hadn't noticed before, she could now see he was dead ass drunk. He gives a smooth smile. Ten seconds remaining (she calculated).

"I guess they will," he responded. Was he talking about Candy? He chuckled once more, the fireworks making his jaw line stand out. "Happy New Years', Lia."

And just like that, Castiel leaned over and smacked a sloppy kiss on to her cheek.

* * *

again, i'm late. lol.

my awesome, sweetly honest friend **Amandaaaaaaaa** took the time to admit that this was a really slow-burn relationship, so I decided to speed it up a little. except i'm still late. also, there is side Armin/Candy; one-sided Castiel/Candy; and a bit of one-sided OC/Armin.

hope you guys enjoy it! thank you so much for reviewing &amp; favorite-ing the story, I really appreciate it :-)!


End file.
